Since childhood, I have been a big reader. I still read each night before I go to bed. Nonfiction is my favorite jam, and months ago, when the world was normal, my best friend recommended that I check out Gabrielle Bernstein’s new book, Super Attractor. Also a big fan of my local library system, I logged in to have it held for me – and to my dismay, discovered I was #67 on the waitlist.

Fast forward three months, the week that coronavirus hit Portland. It was finally my turn for a copy and I scooped it up just days before the whole library system closed.

At about the same time, I decided to close down the physical space of my business, a brand new coworking community called VIDA. It was a tough decision, and I made it earlier than most, but I felt it was the best chance at flattening the curve was to keep everyone home. That evening, as I tried to process all that was happening in the world and in my life, I got to Chapter 8, “Appreciate and Appreciate More,” which called for using the practice of appreciation as an antidote to worry and feelings of losing control.

“When your focus is on what’s working and thriving, you feel good,” Bernstein writes.

Given the circumstances of the pandemic and its fallout, expressing appreciation felt like a lot to ask. But I was seeking an outlet for some sense of ease, and that night I made my list.

Surprisingly, it did actually help me feel better — and as a way to pay it forward, I am sharing this practice plus my list, in case it is helpful for you too.

• I appreciate each of my coworking community’s members and member companies who have given the me the opportunity to launch and sustain a business that I love.
• I appreciate the ability that some have continued to pay for monthly membership fees, even through they are now receiving fewer services, so that I may continue to stay in business.
• I appreciate a landlord who allows us to stay in the space even though we will not be able to pay rent as usual, our legislators who approved aid packages to families and small businesses, and our local leaders who are representing us during this time.
• I appreciate the doctors, nurses, hospital administrators and public health officials who treat, consult and provide information and tools on how to keep us safe, as well as directly care for those who are sick.
• I appreciate the school closures, both in that they are keeping our kids and teachers healthy and also for the extra hours with my daughter – precious time home together that hasn’t occurred in a dedicated way like this since maternity leave.
• I appreciate that I am able to keep my house warm and full of food and my mind full of books and streaming television and my community close through online access. I recognize that this is not true for all and it makes me want to work harder to fight for equal access to basic rights like food security, housing and healthcare. 
• I appreciate the opportunity to ask for, and receive, assistance and to rely on people to make decisions in the greater good of the community, to share resources and ideas and toilet paper. 

While there is so much uncertainty, fear and concern all around — and certainly tragic unravelings of pandemic proportions – there are also many opportunities to be appreciative of outcomes that we could never have imagined.

When my mind starts spinning in a downward spiral, I take a moment to appreciate something – anything. It’s remarkable how helpful it is to redirect the brain. It is even backed by science.

“Your brain only has so much power to focus its attention. It cannot easily focus on both positive and negative stimuli,” says neuroscientist Alex Korb, author of The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time.

It has now been six weeks since I first wrote my list and I’ve found myself coming back to this practice again and again, whenever life starts to feel overwhelming and unmanageable. Should this be the case for you too, I urge you to make an appreciation list of your own, each and every time.

Eventually each small round of practice, “one little step at a time,” will help build up a habit that can rewire the brain to start looking for things to be grateful for. What a gift that would be as we recover from this pandemic.

Now that the libraries are closed for a while, I have the book longer than usual. If you are in Portland and feel a great desire to read it, let me know and I’ll drop it to your doorstep (completely disinfected of course).