A Year of Gratitude
Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for an
amazing blogging community!
On October 18th, I will be celebrating a year of gratitude! A year ago, I began a new practice of gratitude. It was inspired by a blog post written by Kate Roberts.
Each morning begins with an email listing things for which I'm grateful. I send the email to a small group of friends. I send a separate email to a few family members. This practice has changed me. Throughout my day, I find myself thinking...oh, I should include that in my email tomorrow. Others like to end their day with the email. I like to begin my day with it...I feel like it steers me in the right direction.
This simple email can be a hard thing to send...you know, on those days when you just don't care...or those days where everything seems to be terrible?!?! So many days, I just wanted to give up on gratitude and say forget it. From my experience, sending the email on those days is when it matters the most! It can change perspective.
I now send the email every week day. Some days everyone responds, some days only one or two people respond. There was a time when this frustrated me...until I realized that it's not about replies! It's about MY gratitude and my grateful attitude and sharing it with those I love.
October 18th will be a year...A YEAR of GRATITUDE! I'm so grateful for that. It makes me smile to know that we've reached that milestone!! I'm proud of all of us who have participated.
Let me highly recommend gratitude as a daily practice. Pick some of your favorite people in the world. Explain what you want to do and start. It will change your life!
Here are some of my FAVORITE things that have shown up on the gratitude email...
coffee is a big favorite for many of us
sunshine
green lights all the way to work
husbands who vacuum
pigs
accidental extra sleep
book release day
neti-pot
naps
my Verizon guy
the sound of my daughter blowing her nose
pizza
And the list goes on! Today I'm grateful for...
*an amazing job
*kind students
*rested from a three day weekend
*Bella snuggles
*starting a new book
*this amazing blogging community
Thank you!
I love your list of things you are grateful for. It really highlights how the simple things are the things that mean the most to us. You have inspired me. Here comes another journal......... Great post about such a lovely topic. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I need to start writing down and sharing with others what I'm grateful for. Thanks for the reminder! :)
ReplyDelete--Jee Young
I have thought of this aver since I read Ann Voskamp's book. I love the idea of making a list every day, but how do you find a group of people to commit to the email list. Did anyone drop out? How many made the group? Did having the group make you more committed to the practice? Thanks for sharing. Happy One Year of Gratitude!
ReplyDeleteHaving a group of people is important! I think it keeps us all accountable and gives us an audience! They are the reason I send the email on days I want to give up. Each group is small...5-6 people. I picked the people. They participated. I'm grateful for that.
DeleteWow-an entire year is a big deal, Michelle. Love that you are doing this, and enjoyed seeing the list of things people shared with you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list and idea. Congratulations on your year of gratitude. What a different world we would live in if everyone did this.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a list! My favorite is the child blowing her nose! Cute! And yes, coffee is a must. I'm so sorry I won't be able to see you on the 18th at the TCRWP Saturday reunion day. I'm going to NCTE this year instead. Will I see you there?
ReplyDeleteYes, I will be at NCTE! We will have to meet up!
Delete365 days. I keep seeing these kinds of projects - journals, emails, photos. It takes commitment but is clearly worth it. I think that even weekly gratitude helps with changing perspectives and seeing the positive in life. Wishing you another year of gratitude.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terje! It's the group of people that encourages me to continue!! I never finish any of those other projects on my own. The accountability helps & motivates me. :)
DeleteI love, love, love that someone is grateful for pigs. It makes me want to blog about cattle. :)
ReplyDeleteBut as always, the reminder to look for the joy in the little things is so powerful. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! This had to have to taken so much perseverance, discipline and dedication! I have tried writing down things I am thankful for several times - yes, inspired by Ann Voskamp - but I have not been very successful. Congrats on your one-year anniversary!
ReplyDeleteI was part of Michelle's gratitude community. Although I don't always contribute, I ALWAYS read what other people are grateful for. And while these people aren't necessarily my friends, I do feel a closeness with them. Thanks michelle
ReplyDeleteWow! A whole year is a great achievement. I do a Saturday celebration as part of Ruth Ayers #celebratelu http://www.ruthayreswrites.com/p/celebrate-this-week.html I have really begun to look forward to making that list of celebrations each week in much the same way. Every day is quite a commitment. Congratulations!
ReplyDelete