I keep a gratitude journal. It’s just a blank notebook, nothing special. It’s a particularly jazzy shade of orange, so it makes me happy to see it, to hold it in my hands, and to use it. About two or three times a week I open my gratitude journal and write down five things for which I am grateful. Here’s a sample from a random day earlier this year:
- Being sleepy at bedtime
- Oatmeal
- Morning walks
- Birds at the feeder
- Cozy clothes
Sometimes I write entire sentences, sometimes just a word or two. Believe it or not, there has been a lot of research on gratitude and on keeping gratitude journals. Supposedly the best way to keep a gratitude journal is to not only write what you are grateful for, but why. So instead of just writing “oatmeal”, I should write something like, “I am grateful for how my morning oatmeal warms me, nourishes me, and makes me feel like I am taking care of myself.” I did try to use that technique at first, but found that it became a chore before long. And then I quit for several months. So, in the interest of “done is better than perfect”, I stopped expecting myself to keep my journal the “correct” way. And I don’t put pressure on myself to write every single day.
I’ve been keeping my current jazzy orange gratitude journal since January, but I have several that I’ve kept at different times in my life. I like to read my old gratitude journals – they tell me a lot about where my head was during that time. Here is a day from the journal I kept during my cancer treatment:
- The gift of one more day on this beautiful earth
- Walked 1.1 miles and I wasn’t tired or breathless
- I am grateful for Chris’ utter confidence that everything is going to be all right
- The feel of the cool breeze on my hot head
- I am loved
It’s amazing how quickly you can start to take things for granted, even after a life-changing experience like cancer. These days I walk around 7 miles a day, and while I do feel grateful for the ability to do so, the gratitude experience of simply being physically able to walk isn’t as intense as it was during those chemo days. I’m also still grateful for each day that I wake up, but the normality of waking up each day has crept back in. This is a good thing in a way, but I never want to forget what an incredible thing it is to live just one day on this earth.
During these coronavirus times, I’m experiencing newfound gratitude for things I used to take for granted, including:
- Healthcare workers
- Grocery store clerks
- Scientists
- Sanitation workers
- First responders
- Fresh food
- Co-workers
- Having a job
I’d like to think that when this is all over I will feel this gratitude as intensely as I do now, but I know that things will go back to normal and I’ll forget just a little bit how I feel in this moment. That’s one of the reasons why keeping a gratitude journal is so important to me – to remind me that the things I take for granted, including everyday normality, are in fact precious gifts.
I’m grateful for you, friends.
See you next time. Xoxo