Gratitude, To Journal It or Not?

When I am stressed to the max I often wake up at night for nights in a row and I can't get back to sleep. That period most recently was when a loved one was being staged with cancer.  It was during the period when we didn't know how advanced it was or what the treatment recommendation would be. It's at these times that I utilize a mental gratitude list.  I do not get out of bed.  I simply work towards coming up with 36 things from the day before that I am thankful for and I use my fingers to keep count.  The benefit is that I generally fall asleep.
After such periods are over and I do not wake up at night anymore I feel called to do the mental gratitude list before I get out of bed.  For me, having gratitude on my heart is praise for God.* For this reason, it really sets a positive tone for my day.  I will do this for a period and then at some point my life gets busy and I am distracted by something that calls me out of bed right away every day.
Once the call to do mental gratitude lists have stopped I will sometimes get the message during my journaling that I need to praise God.  It's at these times that I write down my gratitude in my journal. There's no magic to the number 36, but I work to get to at least 36 things.  It's generally not hard to do.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  What are you thankful for about yesterday?  Can you think of 36 things?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH
www.cardinaltouch.net

Gratitude in Verse (Journaling Brings Possibilities)

Backyard, MH

I love going back through my journals and reading what I have long forgotten.  Even the gratitude lists are interesting to me, revealing some of the most wondrous items from a specific point in time. A few months ago I decided to write a poem based on a gratitude list in a previous journal. Now when I come across other gratitude lists of the past I do the same.  It might be something you get inspired to do as you look back.  Here's one of mine.

PASSING THROUGH

The white-throated sparrow still sings

So content am I it wasn't quickly passing.

The early flowering plants pop through the softening earth

Bleeding hearts, wild ginger, bluebells

Hostas and ferns, too.

One child still gathers at our meals,

The first child's time so quickly passing.

New and old recipes nourish this life of ours

Friends and acquaintances, too.

Constant is the God who blesses me.

Please keep me in my passing.

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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1. What comes to you to consider when you look back in your journal? (If you don't keep a journal, pick the last holiday or the last week or yesterday).

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.