Joy in the Daily

It’s Thanksgiving next week here in the US. 

Naturally all things trending are toward cultivating a grateful heart.

Journaling is a great way to become more mindful of what we can be grateful for in our lives.

In one particularly trying season of my life, I decided to try to write out a 1000 things I’m grateful for as an exercise. 

There was a lot of chaos and craziness going on and I wasn’t sure I could pull it off.  

But I know it wouldn’t hurt to try to cultivate a grateful heart amid all that uncertainty and confusion.

A grateful heart is a happy heart.

A happy heart is a grateful heart.

~ Angela O

So here’s what I did. 

I wrote down 5 things I was grateful for each day. 

On some days, I felt discouraged even before breakfast!   So I would try to name simple things I could be grateful for.  Nothing big.  Just simple things like safe shelter, warm bed, fresh bread, clean water, music that lifts my soul.

Afternoons are a good time for short gratefulness exercises too.  Interrupting your regular routine to do some gratitude journaling in the middle of the day encourages more mindful living.  

At night, when the body is more relaxed, taking a moment to reflect and jot down a few things that you are grateful for is a great way to help you go to bed more peacefully and easily.

You’ll be surprised by how little habits like that can change your life. It will help you cultivate a spirit of lightness and tenderness not just for yourself but also toward others. It just might change how you see the world. 

For the record, I stopped counting after 2700+.  I still keep a gratitude journal by my bedside.  I have a strong hunch that this simple exercise of practicing gratitude helped birth this shop and its name, Simple Daily Joy, years later.

Try it.  Drop me a note sometime and let me know how it goes.

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving heart everyday.

XO