Day 8 - Gratitude
A simple but powerful practice.
Easy version:
Quickly list 3 things you’re grateful for right now.
Less easy:
Make this a daily habit! Set aside 10 minutes at the end of your day to write down what you’re grateful for, or even just make a habit of listing your three things in your mind at bedtime.
Why on earth should you do this?
A couple of reasons: first of all, it shifts your focus to positive things, which is very good for improving mental health. It can also be very grounding at the end of a challenging day to create awareness of ways in which things are going well. Right in this moment, you are safe. Right in this moment, you can take a deep breath, and be grateful for that breath.
My personal choice:
First of all, I have to say that I love this practice. Every day has a different gratitude that shines through! Mine for right now are:
our cat, who is 18 years old, and the sweetest little soul you’ve ever met. She’s got kidney disease, and the past few years have seen more trips to the emergency vet than we’d like (especially since it’s almost 2 hours away!). But on her good days, she purrs like a champ, loves sleeping in the sunshine or in front of the fire, and cuddles up every night to watch a movie with us. I’m grateful every day that she’s still with us.
our garden, which is still feeding us in the middle of February!
my husband, who cleared a foot of snow off our walkway and driveway this morning, and is just generally a pretty awesome fellow :)
Ideas for sharing:
If you’re on social media, you can share one or more of your gratitudes. Add a quick description of the activity to encourage your friends and followers to try it too!
If you’re doing a “daily Joy texting” partnership with someone, send each other a quick text of one thing you’re grateful for at this moment.
To share this activity in person, ask someone near you what they’re grateful for today. Share yours with them too!
Feel free to share your gratitude for the day with me! Either in the comments below, or by emailing me.