Gratitude
Start here. You are okay. You can stop your addictive behaviors if you start by looking at them and being honest with yourself. It's okay to have anxiety. We are all designed that way. Stop here.
Gratitude is more than a personality trait, a noun, or a feeling. It is a practice, which makes it closer to a verb. We participate in life, face adversity, try to be of service, and create experiences that give us something to feel grateful for. None of this is easy, so we should support one another in the effort.
We also need to notice when resentment appears, because resentment shows us where the next piece of work is. We can ask ourselves: What am I holding on to? What needs to be understood, expressed, forgiven, or released?
Practicing gratitude requires us to work with the forces that pull us away from it, including resentment, anxiety, fear, and exhaustion. One of the best ways to do that is to keep returning to relaxation throughout the day through the body, the breath, and the mind. Gratitude is not a permanent state that we achieve once. It is a practice we return to again and again.
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