Gratitude and Being Thankful
I saw this sign on being thankful one day when trolling through Facebook and reposted it to share with my friends. I wish I could remember the page I originally saw it on, but I apologize because I don't. I typically save photos with inspirational, motivational quotes that I like, then on certain days when one "speaks" to me, I re-share it with my Facebook friends. A lot of times the photos will have a credit or source on it, but this one didn't so I am sorry and will try to remember to add a source the next time. Any way...
Several years ago, I was watching the Oprah Winfrey Show (I know there are a lot of people who didn't love her show like it did, but I really felt I learned things from watching it so try to keep an open mind if you weren't a fan of hers.) If you don't know about Oprah, she was someone who journaled regularly. I was never able get into a regular habit of journaling although I had made several attempts over the years. On one particular show Oprah started talking about keeping a "Gratitude Journal". Basically, the premise of this journal (as I interpreted it) was that no matter how down you might feel, or how badly you think your situation is at the time, you should always be able to come up with FIVE things to be thankful for. At the end of each day, you should write out those five things in the Gratitude Journal. Through doing this, you'll start to realize you truly have MANY things in your life to be thankful for and you won't feel so down or awful about whatever your situation is.
Well, I don't even really remember what I was frustrated about in my life at the time when I watched that episode. I believe I was in my late 20's and think I may have been feeling like my life just wasn't what I had planned for it to be. I probably wasn't in a dating relationship and I wanted to be married with kids, didn't love the job I had at the time, had a debt that I was having to work hard to pay off and I never had enough money to do what I wanted to do, you know... the usual frustrations of a single woman in her late twenties. I was feeling sorry for myself and a little down. I thought, "What the heck? I should give this Gratitude Journal thing a try."
I must admit, the first couple of times I had to think really hard to come up with FIVE things I was thankful for and I only came up with three, but honestly, I was making it harder than it needed to be. They don't have to be super significant “things”, they could be ANYTHING , just as long as you are genuinely thankful for it (this is according to the Book of Donna). And it's kind of fun to mix in things like "I am thankful for a husband who loves me and is supportive in everything I do" with "I am thankful for seeing the big burly man I saw running with his tiny toy dog because it made me smile". I've been thankful for things like "discovering I had a flat tire at 10 am in the morning in the parking lot of the YMCA instead of 10 pm at night on some dark road" to "the military men and women who risk their lives to fight for our freedom" to "remembering to throw my umbrella in my purse" and "hearing an old favorite song on the radio that brought back great memories". Oh, and I don't write mine in a journal - never was able to make that a habit, but I do "give my thanks" every night before I go to sleep before saying my prayers. What I learned about doing this is: When you're truly grateful for what you have, you'll be surprised how spectacular you and your life really is or becomes!
Let me know if you already keep a Gratitude Journal or if you decide to start one, or if you just do it in your head like I do, and what you think about the process and if you gain any insight for it or through it. Thanks for reading this - I'm grateful you took the time!
