We've had just over two weeks back at school and everyone is back into school mode. I am grateful that we are back to some kind of normalcy.

My Auckland family, including grandkids 2, 5, 8 and 14 years old, are into their sixth weekend of Lockdown although Level 3 hints at a return to something better.  We have helped them as best we can with lots of FaceTime and a couple of care packages.  I know they have appreciated that support.

Gratitude is a relationship-strengthening emotion because it requires us to see how we’ve been supported and affirmed by other people.

Gratitude has two components. Firstly, it's an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world - love, friendship and benefits we’ve received. This doesn’t mean that life is perfect; it doesn’t ignore complaints, burdens, and hassles. But when we look at life as a whole, gratitude encourages us to identify some amount of goodness in our life.

Secondly, it's an acknowledgement of  the role other people play in providing our lives with goodness.

Being grateful and expressing gratitude can be at odds with some deeply ingrained psychological tendencies - e.g. negativity bias.

Johanna Borella teaches Mindfulness at school and she has written an interesting article that I hope you'll make time to read that expands on this.

Kia kaha te menemene - keep smiling

Paul