28 January 12
1. Running this morning
2. Sledding with Jim and Ben
3. Getting the house chores done today
4. Bottling Jim's beer
5. Trying a new recipe for dinner
6. Rocking and chatting with Ben before bed
Consistent blogging is not yet my strong suit. There is only one writing practice I have managed to keep consistently for going on fourteen years - that is, my gratitude journal. I learned this practice from my friend Meg K., then came across it again in "Simple Abundance" by Saran Ban Breathnbach.
Every night before bed, I record at least five things from my day for which I am grateful. If I skip a day (which has happened due to vacations/ business trips/ drunkenness/ illness/ labor & delivery/ etc.), I catch up the next and record ten (or fifteen or however many days I've missed). On many nights it is really easy to come up with five, six, or more. But there have been just as many nights, depending on moods, hormones, and the day's events, when I sit and stare at the page, stymied to come up with grateful thoughts:
7 February 06
1. My family
2. The chance every day to start over
3. A steady job
4. Our home
5. Knowing how blessed I am even on nights like tonight when I'm feeling very low and uninspired
And those nights, the lack of gratitude stirs my guilt because I sit there and think, "How can you be so ungrateful?!" But it's a self-discipline, now. I sit and think until those third, fourth, fifth items occur to me.
I've read again and again that gratitude boosts happiness. When I first started, the practice felt forced and a little too "warm and fuzzy." As it happens, it was also a darker time in my life, emotionally. However, I managed to stick with it and truly believe that it has boosted my happiness over the years.
A secondary benefit is that the journals provide snap-shots of my day-to-day life. I like looking back to a year ago or to a certain point of time (like, the day before Ben was born) and seeing what I was thinking about, what made me happy:
18 February 07
1. Waking up without an alarm
2. A good work-out
3. Finding bras that fit!
4. All the things Jim is willing to do for me
5. A relaxing weekend
A lot of entries are repeats such as "rocking Ben before bed" or "running this morning"(I don't have a rule about duplications) - but there are the unique ones:
13 September 11
4. A picnic (Subway) in the car with Ben tonight.
And then there are the journals themselves. I've always had a thing for blank books, and I now have good reason to stockpile them!
I really enjoy blogging and want to stick with it - a goal for 2012 is at least two entries a week. But I am grateful that putting pen to paper, at least for a brief list, is now as much a habit for me as brushing my teeth at night.
1. Running this morning
2. Sledding with Jim and Ben
3. Getting the house chores done today
4. Bottling Jim's beer
5. Trying a new recipe for dinner
6. Rocking and chatting with Ben before bed
Consistent blogging is not yet my strong suit. There is only one writing practice I have managed to keep consistently for going on fourteen years - that is, my gratitude journal. I learned this practice from my friend Meg K., then came across it again in "Simple Abundance" by Saran Ban Breathnbach.
Every night before bed, I record at least five things from my day for which I am grateful. If I skip a day (which has happened due to vacations/ business trips/ drunkenness/ illness/ labor & delivery/ etc.), I catch up the next and record ten (or fifteen or however many days I've missed). On many nights it is really easy to come up with five, six, or more. But there have been just as many nights, depending on moods, hormones, and the day's events, when I sit and stare at the page, stymied to come up with grateful thoughts:
7 February 06
1. My family
2. The chance every day to start over
3. A steady job
4. Our home
5. Knowing how blessed I am even on nights like tonight when I'm feeling very low and uninspired
And those nights, the lack of gratitude stirs my guilt because I sit there and think, "How can you be so ungrateful?!" But it's a self-discipline, now. I sit and think until those third, fourth, fifth items occur to me.
I've read again and again that gratitude boosts happiness. When I first started, the practice felt forced and a little too "warm and fuzzy." As it happens, it was also a darker time in my life, emotionally. However, I managed to stick with it and truly believe that it has boosted my happiness over the years.
A secondary benefit is that the journals provide snap-shots of my day-to-day life. I like looking back to a year ago or to a certain point of time (like, the day before Ben was born) and seeing what I was thinking about, what made me happy:
18 February 07
1. Waking up without an alarm
2. A good work-out
3. Finding bras that fit!
4. All the things Jim is willing to do for me
5. A relaxing weekend
A lot of entries are repeats such as "rocking Ben before bed" or "running this morning"(I don't have a rule about duplications) - but there are the unique ones:
13 September 11
4. A picnic (Subway) in the car with Ben tonight.
And then there are the journals themselves. I've always had a thing for blank books, and I now have good reason to stockpile them!
I really enjoy blogging and want to stick with it - a goal for 2012 is at least two entries a week. But I am grateful that putting pen to paper, at least for a brief list, is now as much a habit for me as brushing my teeth at night.
No comments:
Post a Comment