Tags
blessed, Gratitude, Gratitude journal, happy, journal, joy, Master, Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day – an old and beautiful tradition of giving thanks and recognizing the things to be grateful in our lives. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about my gratitude journal that I started earlier this year.
When I am spiritually uplifted, regular with my “sadhana” (daily yoga and meditation practice), my entire being automatically comes to state of gratitude, love and joy. Being in the presence of the Master, wise men, happy and positive people, or reading the ancient scriptures or inspirational texts also brings me to that state.
However, life happens and not all days are as beautiful. There are many times I experience tough days where I find myself having no time for myself as my toddler keeps me on my toes, or I get busy and preoccupied with other things. It is so easy to get into the mundane and forget how blessed and grateful I am.
After having my baby, there have been many times I did not find the time for my daily practice, and of course many times I am not motivated enough to wake up early. So a few months ago, I started a gratitude journal. I believe that whatever we focus our attention on multiplies in our life and when we focus on abundance and our blessings, it multiplies. I began cultivating the habit of taking a few moments every night, breathe, and think about my day and life. I began acknowledging all the blessings in my life, and began jotting them down in my gratitude journal. Sometimes I could think of many things to write about, and other times, especially on tough days, I would have to think really hard to come up with things. On such days I would write down things that I take for granted – like food and water, my family and a bed to sleep on. This little habit takes me a little bit to the space of love, joy and makes me feel lucky, blessed and truly makes me feel like I have it all. To be honest, in the beginning, it just felt rhetorical but over a period of time, I have realized the benefit of this simple exercise. Now, I really value this time to myself before bedtime, it has become my nightly ritual that I look forward to after a long day.