The Importance of Gratitude
“The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” - Mary Davis
Gratitude is one of our core values at Pangea, so much so that we typically start every call with each other, pausing to discuss what we’re grateful for at that moment. There are many easy things to express gratitude for – our health, families, friends, partners, home, jobs, food, etc. And yet, so often, we become absorbed in the challenges of our days that many of us neglect to find the time to pause and reflect on the people and things we are grateful for - and fewer of us actually take the time to express the gratitude we feel to others.
When I look at the world around us, I can understand why it might feel easy to lose sight of the things we’re grateful for. Every day there’s increasing political and economic uncertainty, and megalomaniacs use their resources and platforms to cause irreparable dissension in society. We’ve spent several years now coexisting with an ever-changing pandemic, and industries and brands are changing (and some becoming obsolete). However, in these times, real change also becomes possible – and we find ways to be humbled by gratefulness in the little things.
This year has been a year of tremendous change for me personally and for Pangea Brands. Our team spent over two years developing a new collection of the cleanest, most efficacious beauty products - and we committed to eliminating single-use plastics in all of our packaging. I’m so grateful for every single person who supported this mission; because it took no less than twenty-five ‘nos’, before every time, we received a yes from partners in creating these new products.
Our response to these changes has been unprecedented – we’ve received awards, and our business is growing, but I’m most grateful for the support from all of you reading this, who have supported these changes with your purchases. This allows us to create change together in our world, and I’m grateful for the positive impact this can have on our future generations.
Writing this was a good reminder for me to think about all the ways I can express more gratitude to those I love – and not wait to do so. Here are some simple suggestions to do just that.
- Write a heartfelt letter (with specifics, please) to express gratitude to that someone in your life who is your ride-or-die.
- Cook a meal made with love, and share it with those you love (I recently gave small jars of homemade chili crisp to my closest friends and sealed them with a heart sticker).
- Share a photo, story, or memory that you are grateful for (with the person you created it with).
- Tell your work spouse how grateful you are that the support and connection you share make the job enjoyable (or..tolerable).
- Call a family member and tell them how grateful you are for your shared experiences that helped shape who you are.
- Reciprocate gratitude in the moment – don’t wait to tell someone how much they mean to you or just how much something they did impacted you. We don’t always get second chances to do this.
- Give a warm hug, and express thanks with sincerity.
And, of course, you can also show gratitude simply by giving a thoughtful gift. Perhaps our holiday gift collection can be a good source of inspiration for that.
With love (and much gratitude),
