Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 26: Thanksgiving

Today is of course, Thanksgiving. It's an American celebration, not really celebrated here in the UK. But in the cold and dark of winter - especially the winter of this unprecedented and most difficult of years - it's rather a nice idea to literally count your blessings and give thanks.

I have to admit I was a bit sceptical in the past about the concept of formalising gratitude by keeping a gratitude journal or other similar practises. But over the years my thinking on this has shifted. Yes, it can feel a bit forced sometimes to produce regular lists of things for which you're grateful. But I've found that rather in the way that the more you seek beauty the more you see beauty, the more you count your blessings the more blessings you seem to have.

One of my favourite ways of practising gratitude is the Jar of Blessings. Do think about making one! But in the meantime, if you want to exercise your gratitude muscle the exercise below is a great way to ease yourself into the experience.  

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 26

Thanksgiving

In your journal, write a list of things you are grateful for today. You don't have to limit the number of things on your list, but try to come up with a minimum of three things. Include things that you are always grateful for - having a roof over your head, or the love you have for your children. Include things that you are grateful for that happened today - the person who lent you change for the parking meter, the particularly fine lasagne you cooked, the joke your friend told you that made you laugh out loud. Include whimsical things - the cloud you saw that looked like a giant duck, your rainbow umbrella. Include mundane things - the fact that the bus came on time this morning, the beautiful bunch of asparagus that was marked down in the greengrocers. 

It might take an effort to get started, but once you get going, you'll probably be surprised how many things you can list.

Suggestion:

Try doing this every day leading up to Yule. Think of it like a kind of Advent calendar where each day you open a door onto all the different blessings that life has for you. If you find you'd like to continue the practise after Yule, please do!