What are you thankful for? Have you caught it all?

In the aftermath of Thanksgiving, we thought it would be helpful to offer some remixes for gratitude. The effects of gratitude are well-documented. Expressing authentic thanks is good for our physical and mental health.

As this word has gotten out, and particularly in this festive season, though, you may be feeling some gratitude overwhelm. Or even gratitude burnout. There’s also been a lot of reasons to feel frustration, anger, and despair these days. So we were inspired to look to nature to reinvigorate our own gratitude practices, and thought we’d pay that forward.

Why Nature?

But why nature? First of all, there’s no questioning that we all share nature. As human beings, we share everything related to nature, from our own biological makeup to our earthly home and its laws of physics. We are in the earliest days of learning to value our diversity. Belatedly, we have seen that teams, organizations, and communities benefit from including a breadth of ways of thinking, religious and spiritual beliefs, cultural and racial heritage, gender and sexual identities, and more. In that context, how powerful to draw inspiration for leadership from nature, which unites us all.

Secondly, nature’s systems are working. Compared to nature, and her various species, today’s Fortune 500 companies, or startups, even more ephemeral, rise and fall in the blink of an eye. Even in the face of human’s extractive use of natural resources, the resilience of these systems is remarkable.

And finally, in a time of climate crisis, perhaps learning to lead from nature would birth approaches that better respect, valorize, and regenerate the earthly resources that we are overtaxing at our own peril.

Thanks for What?

Nature is a vast and diverse system. By the way, spending time in nature is also proven to improve physical and mental health. So even if you don’t get to the gratitude piece of this suggestion, you’ll still be better off!

Three themes emerge in nature that might provoke some new things in your life to be grateful for.

Beauty

Perhaps one of the first things we tend to appreciate about nature is beauty. A flower, a sunset, the color of fall leaves, a bird or butterfly. Beauty is a powerful motivator and healer. Take time to notice beauty the next time you look out the window or take a walk. And express your gratitude for the stone, leaf, cloud pattern, or creature that catches your attention.

Then, look inside. Are there examples of (non-natural) beauty that you’re grateful to have in your life? Maybe a book cover or piece of art. A piece of clothing or even something in your kitchen that you find particularly attractive. Even a relationship or an interaction with a colleague or friend that strikes you as beautiful.

Ease

Another theme in nature is the – apparent – ease with which things happen. The river doesn’t strategize its path. There are no committee meetings to coordinate the falling of leaves. And the birds know how and where to fly when winter comes. Glimpse an example of this ease in whatever naturescape you’re exposed to.

And then, bring it inside. Where do you see or feel ease, in your family, at work, or just with yourself. Is there something – no matter how small – that feels effortless or intuitive? What a gift! Express thanks for that ease, whether to yourself or in conversation.

Collaboration

Finally, nature is a magnificent mosaic of relationships. It’s made up of many, many ecosystems, each of which are a complex mix of flora and fauna that work together to survive. Listen to one example on this podcast with Suzanne Simard, a Professor of Forest Ecology.

Can you witness that collaboration? A squirrel finding a nut to store for later. Moss growing on tree bark or the dozens of lives growing from a dead trunk. Or any of many others.

How do those relationships make you think of the collaborations you have with colleagues, friends, and family members? How do you each make the other’s day better, or even possible? Share the ways that matter to you with those people, don’t keep this gratitude to yourself! And do it early and often – it doesn’t cost a thing and has been shown to have a real return in the workplace. It’s not hard to imagine those same benefits in personal relationships.

Alright – over to you. Take a few minutes to glance out the window, or take your next conversational meeting as a ‘walk and talk’. We promise – once you’re looking, it will not take long to see things to be grateful for. Then push yourself to extend that nature wisdom to expand gratitude, even inside the four walls of your home or at your computer!

If you’d like to learn more about how to integrate nature and gratitude into your life and work, please get in touch.