Mindcoolness

A Cool Mind for a Full Life

  • Blog
  • Book
  • Glossary
  • About
  • Contact

Practice Mindful Gestures of Gratitude

July 7, 2017 Dominic Reichl

A substantial part of my True Will is to live my life fully, mind-fully, and one way I exercise my mindfulness skills in daily life is by practicing little rites of gratitude. In particular, I express gratitude by bowing down and shaking hands.

When I go for a walk in the woods, I bow to the woods before I enter. By bowing to the woods, I thank the trees, the birds, the forester, the wind, and even the insects, those fucking microbeasts. I thank them for their being, their liveliness, the joy they give me, and the natural freedom they give to my soul. When I leave the woods, I bow again.

When I train jiu-jitsu, I bow to the mat before I step on it. By bowing to the mat, I thank my coach, my training partners, and the art’s tradition. I thank them for their presence, their wisdom, the knowledge they give me, and the discipline they give to my will. When I step off the mat, I bow again.

When I roll in jiu-jitsu, I slap and bump hands with my opponent before we fight. By doing that, I thank my training partner for his friendliness, his skills, his strength, the challenge he gives me, and the presence he gives to my mind. When we are done fighting, we hug.

When I meet someone new, I shake the person’s hand for mutual introduction. By shaking hands, I thank the person for their existence, their attention, the social value they give me, and the warmth they give to my heart. If the person is a beautiful woman, I may continue touching her.

Importantly, however, my gratefulness is not in the gesture; it is in my intention behind the gesture, my presence of mind, my moment-to-moment awareness. I want my rites not to be automatic, my bowing not to be an empty habit, my touch not to be a meaningless reflex. Rather, I want them to be acts of mindful appreciation. I want my gestural rites to be sincere and full of intent, because only the power of my conscious will can express true gratitude. Osu!

practice gratitude
An expression of gratitude at UFC 200.

Further Reading

  • How Traveling Teaches You to Let Go Gratefully
  • The Evolutionary Roots of Mindfulness
  • The Path to Mindcoolness #7 – Gratefulness
  • Everyday Mindfulness: Awareness Over Feelings
  • This One Decision-Making Habit Will Change Your Life

Blog, Featured mindfulness, philosophy

Latest Post

Newsletter

Please check your inbox to confirm your subscription.

Copyright © 2022 • Content Disclaimer • Privacy Policy • Affiliate Disclosure • About
Dear reader, this website uses cookies for analytical purposes. We'll assume you're ok with it, but you can opt-out if you wish.
OK Give me more information.
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Posting....