Last night I got into bed and began writing in my gratitude journal and I realised in that moment that it has been exactly a year since I started this practice. A year goes by so quickly and it's been such a beneficial experience, so I thought I might review my experience here for you.
To recap, I had been wanting to commit to a gratitude practice but I hadn't quite got there so in the first Rest and Restore class I ran on a Wednesday night at the end of May 2022, I challenged the students who came along to try to keep a gratitude journal. The challenge was this; at the end of each day, in a small A6 size notebook, right down all the things that you are grateful for that you experienced that day and fill the page up. Asking others to do it meant I had to keep a gratitude journal and show up a month later to talk about it, so I did. (declaring your intentions makes you accountable!)
That month was life changing. I immediately noticed that I was sleeping better and waking up with a positive frame of mind. That in itself made it worthwhile to continue and as it turned out, I really enjoyed reviewing all the beauty in my days. I began to notice and seek out things to be grateful for during the day too!
Gratitude research conducted by Iodice et al. (2021) concluded that individuals who wrote about things they are grateful for showed better mood, coping, and physical health. I can confirm this is definitely true for me too.
My mood tends to be more positive and if I do find myself in a difficult or negative state of mind, I can shift it more easily. I'm coping better with life's inevitable challenges and there seems to be a sense of more ease in my life too. And most interestingly for me, I have found that I'm much more creative in the face of problems. I seem to have tapped into a source of inspiration that comes from a place of higher understanding so solutions seem to be there when I need them. And there's so much more space because I'm far less reactive in my close relationships. Things don't spiral and patterns of behaviour that are keeping me stuck have become more obvious along with alternative ways to be in these relationships.
Really, I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't keep doing this and I'd encourage you to give it a go. It truly is life changing. But if you can't see yourself doing this particular practice, instead try writing a letter to someone who has made a difference in your life that you might never have acknowledged. You'll feel amazing for it and so will they!
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