The other night, after a very stressful day…..hard work and some battles with technology…you don’t even wanna know hahaha but I suspect you already do and have been there too…… I stepped outside in the evening around sunset. I happened to look up in the sky and noticed the clouds looking so beautiful. They looked like an artist was taking a thin paintbrush and just lightly brushing here and there, little wisps of paint. The wind was making them move and change in a gorgeous way. I stopped to watch until my neck hurt hahaha.  The feeling I got stopped me in my tracks. I felt tension that I had been holding in my body all day must melt away. Tension that I hadn’t even been aware I was holding. I felt not only relaxation but the appreciation of the beauty that is out there if we take the time to notice. And gratitude for just the simple fact I was alive and able to enjoy this. It gave me such perspective in the moment and the feeling lasted for hours afterwards.

Then I started to think about why these moments matter for our overall good health. Because they do matter a lot. They don’t change much on the surface (technology issues were still waiting for me) but the strong feelings they give us in the moments of experiencing them lower the tension in our bodies and help us to feel gratitude, two things that have been shown by research to play a part in our health. While they don’t replace medical treatment in serious cases of disease needing immediate treatment (such as heart disease) research is now showing that gratitude plays a part in the healing process. Feeling gratitude has been shown to help with good sleep, better eating habits, helping with depression, and giving confidence in our ability to do and solve things. What’s not to like about gratitude?

Sometimes, it might be hard to find something to be grateful for in a given moment. That’s why on a daily basis I am all about the little things: the things that just stop you in your tracks for just a moment even…..pretty clouds for example. Noticing the little things and stopping and re-setting for even just a few moments is SO powerful. If you practice doing this, you’re going to start seeing more and more little beautiful and sometimes amazing things in your world and your environment wherever you are. Stopping to notice these will have a great impact on your mental and physical health. These small things add up!

Inspiration Spark!: And if you keep watching…..the little things get even better:  the clouds I watched turned a beautiful pink as the sun set and left me able to tackle  and win my technology battles with a peaceful and confident mindset. 

Download my FREE guide and workbook "Ten Steps to Set Yourself Up for Optimal Health, Fitness and Joy"  HERE. 

Sign up for my newsletter HERE.