Gratitude

 

The photo above showed up in my Facebook feed yesterday as a memory from when I posted it three years ago.  It's a quote I had written and doodled around in one of my journals.  What was I thinking about three years ago when I chose that particular quote to illuminate with such exuberant details? When I saw it yesterday, I thought...yes, joy is a form of gratitude.  And also...when we express and feel gratitude, we experience more joy.  It works both ways.  A good reminder.

 

After hearing and reading repeatedly that a habit or practice of gratitude can improve one's outlook and well-being, I started keeping a journal for that specific purpose about four years ago.  I've written in various gratitude journals on and off since then.  I also try to be deliberate about expressing gratitude verbally, in notes and emails, in my writing.  Most of us have a lot to be grateful for, and it's good to remember that.

 

from "daddy" to "downtown abbey" - things she was grateful for over the years

 

I'm grateful for the ABC gratitude books my children made when they were younger.  I had them write a letter of the alphabet on each two-page spread.  I made one too, and we wrote in them on and off for several years.  It's fun to look back at the things they were grateful for at various ages and to see how their handwriting progressed too.  My daughter was only five years old when we started doing this, and she wrote very prominently on her "B" page in large letters "BUSCETY."  This is how she pronounced and wrote "spaghetti" back then.  My older son was in his tween to teen years at the time and was grateful for lots of different kinds of cars among other things.  My younger son was grateful for everything from dinosaurs to Nintendo to George Washington.  All three of them included favorite foods and animals.  They also all have "Mom" on their "M" pages and "Dad" on their "D" pages (of course) as well as grandparents, cousins, friends, coaches, teachers and other people.  I cherish these little scrapbooks of that period of time in my children's lives.  I also believe that making the books helped them develop an attitude of gratitude that will stay with them.

 

grateful for "buscety" - otherwise known as "spaghetti"

 

Certainly we all have tough times, hardships and challenges in our lives.  But if we deliberately recognize the goodness and blessings through gratitude, it makes life a lot more joyful. 

What are you grateful for this moment, this day, this week?

*****

An acrostic poem I wrote in one of my gratitude journals:

 

Giving thanks

Remembering blessings

Appreciating special moments

Thanking God

Inspiring myself

Trusting in goodness & love

Understanding others

Delighting in every day

Expecting joy