When I entered social work school, I was a creative writing and literature major entering an unknown world. On my first day, the late Dean of my social work school, Dr. William Rosenthal, read to us from Keats.
He spoke about what Keats called “Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” In a most loving way, Dean Rosenthal ushered us into an exploration of ourselves as humans and potential helping professionals by stirring our internal awareness of uncertainty in life - our own, and the uncertainty that pervaded the lives of those we would choose to help.
![sw_LoneCoffeeCup_sa05853[3]](http://theirrepressiblewriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/sw_LoneCoffeeCup_sa0585331.JPG "sw_LoneCoffeeCup_sa05853[3]")
Uncertainty in the writing life is frequent and often free-flowing.
Uncertainty in a writer’s life is one of the triggers of negative thinking, and even when you work hard to dispute those thoughts, the empty emotional space of uncertainty can result in your mind wandering back to negative thinking.
You may feel like you’re floating in that space with nothing to keep you anchored.
Gratitude can be that anchor, a center for discovering some stillness when you are feeling “all over the place.”
Still, listing what you’re “grateful for” can become a cliché instead of a true comfort.
So here’s a tip: think about gratitude as a gift you have received, less what you have or regularly receive than an unexpected word or action from someone that has helped you in a specific way.
A focus on the serendipity of an action or event heightens our attentiveness.
Using this practice creates positive emotion that can ”center” you during times of uncertainty. It’s harder work, but has proven and valuable results.
You can check out your own gratitude strengths with Martin Seligman’s Gratitude Questionnaire.
Do you already practice gratitude in this way? Can you share how, or if, it’s helped your writing…and your life?
