Words of Gratitude...

One thing I know to be true is that gratitude is essential if you want to move in any new direction or have newness appear in your life.  If you are not grateful for what has been and what is, then you will never experience what you are wanting to come...

I have a gratitude diary which sits besides my bed. I've had it for a couple of years now. 

Each night before I go to sleep I write 3 things that I am most grateful for today and why. This could be anything at all such as 'I am grateful for my salary each week to help support my family" or as simple as 'Thankyou for my bus driver today getting me home safely" or 'thankyou for my warm gloves which keep me warm in the cold winter mornings"

Even when things dont seem to be going well for you - there is always something we can be grateful for no matter how insignificant you may think it is.
At times in our lives when the chips are down and everything seems to be going wrong, its this time particularly when you should reach for help. Gratitude can help bring you forward and out of the seemingly despairing hole you are in.  It just helps to lift you when things are not so good.

 I found my gratitude journal at Kikki K stationery store one day when I was just browsing, actually, this little stationery store had so much I loved,  I think I walked out with a 'goals journal' as well that day - right up my ally!  You don't even need to buy a fancy journal, you could just as easily create an excercise book into your journal, cover it and decorate it or stick pictures of what you are grateful for over it.

And so began a habit which I hope lasts a lifetime, writing what I am grateful for.  It reminds me of just how blessed I am with who is in my life, where I have been and what I have achieved so far. A little trick I have learned in trying to find in life what it is that I do want is to first work out what it is that I dont want.  Once I have worked that out, I do not harbour on it for long as that will only bring your 'dont's closer to you, its just a little excercise to work out what you really do want, then harbour away on that.

Here are my wants and do not wants:

What I don’t want in my future life
To struggle
To be financially dependent on a salary after 60 years of age
To have to commute long days for a salary                                       
To feel limited in life choices

What I do want

To write
To have the financial freedom of not being tied to a 9-5 job
To travel some more
To be able to renovate my beach retreat
To be debt free
To have choices
To be the healthiest version of ‘me’ that I can be

 

I have also learnt in life that you cannot have anything good come into your life until you are grateful for what has come your way and what is here right now, so I worked on this list as well:

What I am most grateful for and why:

·         My husband’s love  because he does so much for me to make my life easier, I could not do my long commute without him

·         My beautiful children because they continue to teach me how to love unconditionally and they continue to bring joy into my life

      Living close to my Grandchildren and being able to watch them grow is so lovely.  Had we not moved I wouldnt be spending as much time with them.

·         My health because Matt’s chronic fatigue & Kerataconus, my brother's early death and the illness of our special dear friend has taught me that without our health we have nothing

·         My beach retreat because it reminds me to always have a dream and just keep moving towards it

·         Each and every one of the special friends in my life because I love them and they keep me grounded, have supported me through many ups and downs have listened to my woes and continue to be there for me in good times and in bad.

·         A good secure job because I know many people would love my job even if some days I don’t like it.

·         and thankyou especially to everyone who continues to read this blog because it inspires me to keep writing and thinking about my life and the changes I want to make in a positive way.

·         You keep my dream alive of someday writing a book.. so.this is my thankyou to you

·        

 So...have you thought lately what it is that you are most grateful for, try it, you might find your life seems to be a little less burdened when you do.

I am leaving you with this beautiful video which I found to share.  Since I moved to my beach retreat I don't think a day has passed where I have not thought of how lucky I am to be living this dream of ours and how grateful I feel that we were brave enough to follow our dreams...