The internet is awash with tidings of Thanksgiving right now. On the other side of the pond, we Brits don't quite get it... we kind of see it as the event that our American friends confuse with Christmas - well it involves turkey, presents & gathering the family together doesn't it?
Having made some big changes in my life this past year, and actually begun appreciating the value of gratitude, I finally GET the real meaning of Thanksgiving and am quite blown away that an entire country holds a National holiday in the honour of gratitude. That's a powerful thing!
I have been keeping a gratitude journal since March; each night before I turn out the light I list five things that happened during my day for which I am thankful for. Some days it's hard to stick to just five, others it's near impossible to even think of five - either way, it has trained my brain to look out for the good things that happen to me each day. It has become something I look forward to doing each night and you know what?... falling asleep with the thoughts of those five good things has given me such restful sleep. How nice to drift off into the land of nod with positive thoughts rather than feeling stressed about something that might not have gone well or some niggling anxiety about an upcoming situation over which I have no control.
Now don't get me wrong - I know that a gratitude journal is not going to solve all your problems in life, but I do believe it will inject a juicy dose of positivity and make you feel a whole lot nicer about yourself. We can be pretty tough on ourselves most of the time; our own worst critic. Why not take time to acknowledge those little moments of happiness each day, those goals you reached & those challenges you overcame? - no matter how small they may be.
"The great thing about gratitude is that there is no thing too small and no thing too big to receive it!"
You should give it a go... grab a pretty notebook & your favourite pen. Place them by your bedside - if you don't put them right there, you're pretty much guaranteed to forget to do it! (speaking from experience here!) - and tonight, just before you turn out the light, jot down those five experiences from the day that you can feel grateful for. They really can be anything; don't be shy! When I began this, I was very unsure of what to write... after all I'm a Brit; we're used to complaining & apologising rather than showing appreciation & gratitude! Within 2 weeks I had totally found my gratitude mojo & was appreciating so much more in my day to day life... hey, whilst we're on the subject; I am grateful to Christine Kane for showing me the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal. Thanks lady!
So whatever you find yourself doing this Thanksgiving weekend - remember to be thankful!
Gratitude rocks!
Let me know how you get on
Lisa x
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Great idea - I'm American and live in Ireland and we continue to celebrate Thanksgiving every year since we've moved over here - and what i love about thanksgiving is that we gather together to celebrate just being together - live - all that we have to be grateful for - there are not gifts, other than homemade food and wine brought for the meal - and everyone can celebrate not matter what religion you are - unlike Christmas - love the journal idea - i'm generally super positive but i like the idea and with all the "doom and gloom" in the air in ireland lately...it's so important not to let it get to you!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, I love the process of writing a gratitude journal. I found you via Tara's website kick start class and I'm loving finding someone who I feel I have a lot in common with (textiles to start with!). I've been keeping a gratitude journal for years now and it keeps it real, some days it's so easy and other days it's a struggle! I blogged about this a ways back as well. I love finding or decorating a pretty journal and finding fun pens to write with in a rainbow of colors!
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