Gratitude Unbound
Not only is today the day of copious amounts of food, but the one day a year most people take a few minutes to stop and think about the things in their life they are grateful for. It's lovely and it's probably my favorite holiday of the year - it's not commercialized or overshadowed by presents, cards, or gaudy decorations (for the most part).
If you have already read my previous post, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The outpouring of love and support was overwhelming, And I couldn't be more GRATEFUL!
One thing I have learned over the last 5 months is that gratitude and darkness cannot reside in the same space. When I stop and think about the things I am grateful for and the blessings in my life, my brain is occupied by that positivity and the negative thoughts that could creep in are deflected.
I view my gratitude as a piece of armor. By polishing it every day and taking care of it, it better serves me in protecting my mind from going to the dark places that I don't trust, and that have gotten me into trouble in the last decade. Practicing gratitude is my version of polishing my armor.
It started with a journal and was pretty daunting at first. When we are asked what we are grateful for growing up, whether it be in a school setting or around the dinner table with our family, we have an audience. We don't want to sound stupid, or superficial, and in some cases, it can turn into a competition. The beauty of a journal - NOBODY READS IT BUT YOU! However, when I started, I had this mindset in my head and as much as I knew what I was grateful for, nothing ended up on the page.
Until one day, a friend of mine gave me some great advice. "Just write ANYTHING down, no matter how simple, and even if you don't 100% feel or believe that you are grateful for it." That's kind of weird. 🤔 Well, if you think about it, it's not weird at all. When we practice anything, a sport, an instrument, learning how to read etc. are we good at it the first time we try? Hell no. Hence why we practice.
SO, I took my friend's advice. I'm pretty sure the first two weeks I wrote " I am grateful for coffee" in my journal every day. I mean it was the morning after all, and I was genuinely grateful to be able to make coffee! What I noticed around week 2 was that the simple practice of writing this down every day was bringing me more into the present moment. (We see memes and quotes and articles everywhere about this concept - but what does it really mean?)
Then I started to dig slightly deeper and started writing 3 things I am grateful for every day. I started noticing a shift in how I viewed negative situations/comments and my reactions to them. I could let them live where they were and didn't feel the need to take them on myself or let them fester. And I felt better. I also started noticing the days it seemed particularly difficult for me to find 3 things I was grateful for. OKAY, why did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? It gave me the ability to take a few minutes, check my thoughts and manage my emotions, so I could go out into the day without them weighing me down. Prior to this, I'd unjustifiably lose my shit internally towards someone at Walgreens, not realizing I was carrying something in my head that I hadn't gotten in touch with or resolved.
Like I said before, gratitude and darkness cannot reside in the same space.
I won't lie, I still hide my journal even though I know no one is going to read it. Some mindsets are harder to let go than others.
I also won't lie and say that being grateful is a cure-all for some really hard and horrible things that happen in life.
For me, it's a simple practice I can engage in every day that will help me in battle, with my demons & the ones the world puts in front of me.
Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!!! 🦃🍂
Do you have a gratitude journal? How does it help YOU?
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