57 years ago, the idea of World Gratitude Day was suggested by a meditation teacher and spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy in the United Nations meditation room. Ever since that day, every 21st of September each year, we bring together the whole world, to share thankfulness and to remind ourselves of the importance of expressing appreciation.
Gratitude is such a positive emotion that elevates feelings of kindness, warmth, and other forms of generosity. We have been living with the pandemic for over 2 years, and even though it may not be over yet, we have been tremendously strong and made remarkable progress to recover. Let’s take this as an opportunity to practice gratitude.
1. Spend a few moments thinking about who you would like to thank for stepping up to the challenges
Our health care providers, our social workers, ordinary people who have supported their community as much as they can, ourselves, our loved ones, our family… It’s your chance to speak out loud about the positive role people have been playing around you. Being resilient means belonging to a strong community. Take your time to tell others that their presence matter, that you are thankful for having them. Don’t forget to say thanks to yourself as well.
2. Slow down to observe and acknowledge what you have in life
Kahlil Gibran once said: “Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving”.
Every single day that we wake up, have food to eat, have a home to live in, have a body that’s healthy and have people that we dearly love, isn’t it already a blessing?
3. Cultivate gratitude every day
Create some space in our daily life to pause and appreciate simple things that bring us joy, peace, or comfort.
2 years in a pandemic also bring a lot of changes in the world of work. As career development professionals, we should thank ourselves for staying strong and supportive to the people we serve. We are grateful for our clients and our students trusting us.
Working together internationally to advocate for UN International Day of Career and Livelihood, we believe in a sustainable future where we feel grateful for inclusive and equitable access to quality career development services.
Thanks @Ms. Tam Nguyen, Canada for this reminder of the importance of gratitude and all that we have to be grateful for. I was facilitating a career development workshop this week and a discussion arose about passion and purpose. I am personally so grateful to know that my work with the career development sector matters - that it makes a difference in people's lives and to our communities and national/global economies. #WorldGratitudeDay #UNCareerandLivelihoodDay #UNSustainableDevelopmentGoals #SDG8