Grounded Through Gratitude

Several years ago, I started a daily morning routine to journal about things I am grateful for from the day before. Often my gratitude recap is about logistics, like the breakfast fast-food drive-thru I frequent not taking long. Or when on a recent road trip, I made it through a small town without having to stop at all 13 traffic lights. 

The best things that show up with my journaling, center around people I interact with. When I write about the people who I had brief or lengthy encounters with, it shows me that my need for connectivity is often met. Something I don’t think I’d realize if I didn’t write about it. This journaling has opened my eyes and my spirit to the blessings I experience EVERY SINGLE DAY, and. has made a huge difference in my attitude. It offsets the negativity of the world. That isn’t to say it prevents negativity, but it does keep things in perspective. Focusing on the positives does uplift the spirit. 

I am in the midst of reading, “Think Like A Monk” by Jay Shetty. He reminds me that how we start our day is crucial to the mood of the day, and we should, either before we go to bed, or first thing of the morning, write down what we are grateful for as a grounding mechanism. Combine the gratitude journaling with a non-rushed morning routine where you rise and breathe a bit, before diving into the realities that face us, provides a different foundation for the day than a rushed routine.

For most of my life, I, the non-morning person, had a very rushed routine to get myself ready and out the door into the world that awaited. It was even more hectic when I had working mother duties with my daughter’s care as part of the morning process. My usual rushed routine to do what I must do to get me launched and out the door to my morning work commute included a stop at the drive-thru to get some breakfast, with hopes of a short car line, and my food order when given to me, was correct. If I was lucky enough for that component of my commute going well, I then began the battle for a spot on the congested interstate where many cars needed to make their way through the morning’s terrible traffic rush. All this hurrying established a negative energy field as I checked my work’s voicemail from my cell phone to see what potential problems I’d be facing once I arrived at my office. No wonder I felt stressed from work. But now retired, I reflect and wonder if it was work that caused the stress or the negative forcefield I’d created around me with how I started my day.

 Here’s how I wish I’d begun my days (which does mean getting up a bit earlier):

Rising leisurely; enjoying the process of picking out what I’ll wear for the day; a lingering hug with my husband; enjoying the aroma of good-smelling coffee as I pour it into a favorite cup; talking to the cat; appreciating the pictures of family and friends that surround me from my home office; and finally, feeling the pen in my hand as I begin journaling.

The above works a lot better than:

Awakening to a noisy alarm clock; rushing out of bed and hastily picking out my outfit for the day; kissing my husband quickly; finding my phone to check news and social media; and finally, pouring and barely tasting my coffee before I sit down, and organizing my to-do list. 

I can feel the difference, by writing about it. As you read these two scenarios, do you feel the difference?

Life is busy. Life is tough. 

Tough like the recent loss of my friend, Tedi. She recently lost her battle with a cancerous brain tumor. I could write about my heartache, and I probably will at some point, but not in my gratitude journal. Within the gratitude process, I write, “I am very grateful for Tedi’s imprint on my life. Grateful we had many good times together.” Writing these words down and embracing her spirit, as the words pass from my heart, to arm, to hand, to pen, and onto the paper of my journal–fills me with gratitude.

How do you begin your day? And how does that establish the mood for the rest of your day?

I wish I’d started my morning gratitude routine long ago. But starting later rather than never, is something I am grateful I finally got around to. If you need a gratitude process I recommend my writer friend, Maureen Ryan Griffin’s Gratitude Journal (link here) https://www.wordplaynow.com/the-tag-im-it-daily-journal-and-practice/. I also recommend, the aforementioned, book by Jay Shetty, “Think Like A Monk–Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day.”

As you embrace the Thanksgiving holiday, may your days ahead be filled with small and large blessings that will fill a journal’s pages and make your heart soar. 

I close with gratitude that you took the time to read this post.

Carol