Are you ready to start a gratitude jar? It’s easy.
- Choose a jar or bowl.
- Cut up pieces of paper and have a pen handy.
- Select a time(s) of day (upon rising, just before bed or at mealtimes) to add to the jar.
- Select a day/time to begin (what about today, Dec 24th?) and then a time to read them (what about on New Years Eve or January 1st?).
- This could also be an ongoing practice that begins anew each week or shared verbally over dinner during family gatherings.
What sort of things should I reflect upon and include in the jar?
Consider recent-past events and answer the question, ‘What three things happened today that I am particularly grateful for?’ Strive to reflect upon things unique to each day opposed to a general list of gratitudes repeated over and over. Maybe it was laughing with someone, having a really good cup of coffee or finding a parking space close to the entrance of a shop.
Choose an activity dedicated to noticing things as they arise. If you go for a walk each morning, for example, plan to look for things to be grateful for ‘in the moment’. This might include: the sound of snow crunching under your feet, sunlight filtering through the clouds, smiling at someone you pass along the way.
Set aside time for deep gratitudes about loved ones, life circumstances and passions. An exercise that I have found valuable and done many times over the years is to write a love letter to myself with awareness to my aliveness. It may sound odd but imagine that you are no longer in a living body yet still capable of writing a love letter of gratitudes to your living self. If you can get in the right headspace, the result is a letter full of wisdom seen through seeing eyes.
Let me know if you explore any of the suggestions. I would love to hear about it in the comments or when I see you next.
Much love, Katherine
