Gratitude

So, the week has arrived. We're looking forward to time spent with family and friends, we're looking forward to a shortened work week, we're dreaming about all the delicious food we will be enjoying, and we're thinking about gratitude.

I try not to get to preachy here, but I will preach about a grateful existence. As far as I'm concerned, there's very few things more important than cultivating gratitude in one's life-this is a quality that I hope to instill in my future children more than anything (minus compassion and respect).

Now, I've stepped down from my soap box, and now I'm here for what I really came to say.

We're all thinking about gratitude this week, and very likely we will all be expressing it on Thursday, but I challenge everyone that I know and love to practice gratitude on a daily basis. I'll admit that this is much easier said than done. Sometimes I have great days where even the sunlight in the morning makes me grateful to be alive, other days, I'm crying in Lord and Taylor for shoes that I want but can't afford. Life is a constant ebb and flow and I try to remember that in all areas of life, including this. Below are 3 ways that I try to express gratitude all days of the year.

I challenge you to follow one or all of the below practices for this week and see how you feel at the end. You may wish to continue, or you may wish to stop-just give it a go.

Gratitude Journaling

• I've gotten into the pretty regular habit of keeping a gratitude journal 5 days a week. I've got myself trained that while I'm waiting for my computer to load, I jot down 5-ish things that I'm grateful for.
• As mentioned above, some days are good, some are bad. I try to remain consistent even if I'm busy or grumpy
• Sample Entry (This is 100% honest)-4/14/14- "My health/My Grandparents/Mac and Cheese/Seltzer/Starbucks/Pearls"

Taking Stock

• Most nights, I will get into bed with Jon and the pups, we will settle in and I'll fall asleep immediately, if not. . . 
• Where most people will start to tune into their breathing or count sheep (is this still a thing?),  I'll run through a list of what I'm grateful for. 
• Where my journaling is a bit more playful and stream of consciousness, this tends to be a pretty set, serious list
• I once saw a quote that said something along the lines of, "What if you woke up with only what you were grateful for yesterday", and that really struck a chord with me.
• Most times I'll start with things like, "I'm grateful for my health (and Jon's/puppies), our marriage, our jobs, the roof over our heads, etc"

Gratitude Album

• This concept became a big deal for me after I began focusing on rounding out my wardrobe. I kept finding myself wanting more, more, more. Please note-I am very often still like that, but I'm a human and I'm a work in progress
• I started an iPhone album titled, "Gratitude", and every time I came home with a new shirt/pair of shoes/lip gloss/necklace/etc. I snapped a picture and put it into this album.
• Now when I find myself pining for a certain object, I flip through the album and recall all the recent purchases I've made and try to recapture how excited I was to bring everything home. Sometimes (oftentimes), I'll still add a piece to my collection and album, but this practice definitely helps to slow me down. [and it helps me ensure that what I'm buying is cohesive with what I've recently brought home]

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