For the past 3 months, I have been keeping a gratitude log. In it, I add a quote for the month, and each day I write down 3 or more things I am grateful for… It could be anything from coffee to a text from one of my kids to the ability to cook to polar bear adoption to writing to getting a good night’s sleep. But 3 things, at least.
I started the log because I wanted to learn how to be more grateful, to be more consciously thankful for every day things. I can get so stressed out about money or the lack there of, about family, about writing, about our most recent political election. I wanted to teach myself how to take the simple things and be thankful. How to smile when things feel most unsettled.
Has it worked? I don’t know. I’ll admit that some days I struggle to find 3 things to be grateful for, while on other days, like today, I struggled to stop writing all the things down.
I am more aware of things like my impatience and my rush to judgment. I am more aware of the things I can’t control and the things I can. I am more appreciative of friendships and the relationships I have with my kids. I am more aware of things that I like and that make me smile. So, in those respects, yes, perhaps a daily gratitude log has helped me become more aware of things around me and more self aware.
This is an image I colored a few months back on a phone app. I don’t use it anymore, but I thought it was pretty and wanted to share it with you.
In the USA, it’s Thanksgiving Day. As a nation, we have a lot to be thankful for. We also have a long, hard road ahead of us. I am grateful for many things about this country, but I am not so grateful about others. I am, however, hopeful that in the coming weeks and months, I will continue to add to my gratitude log and find myself more open and compassionate.
I think we, as humans on this planet, could all do with a little more openness and compassion toward one another, the animals that share this world with us, and the Earth itself.
~lissa
