I, Sydney Johnston, am committing to (at least) a 30 day gratitude journal on this blog. And I extend an invitation to YOU to do likewise. It doesn’t matter where you express your gratitude and appreciation but you are welcome to post an entry in the comments section below my entries.
A Powerful WHY For Our Appreciation Journals
We have a much better chance of following through with any project if we have strong reasons for doing so. If not, our efforts often start with a huge bang … and then dribble away into nothingness. Sound familiar? So here are my ‘why’ reasons:
1. My number one priority is feeling good. No, not just ‘good’ but awesome, blissful, ecstatic, joyful. My mantra in life is this, compliments of Esther Hicks:
Nothing is more important than feeling good.
What is a better way to feel good than to be filled with gratitude and appreciation for all the blessings in our lives? No matter what problems we have, we all have countless reasons to be grateful. All we have to do is notice them.
2. I’m fascinated with the Law of Attraction, but I have to admit that nothing really major has occurred in my life because of it. If you’re not familiar with the LoA, it says that our lives are created by the energy we’re vibrating on a regular basis. Like attracts like. If we are fearful, we will attract events and people that will cause more fear and if we’re vibrating with joy, we’ll find more and more reasons for joy.
The LoA teachers that I read and respect claim that the highest possible energy we humans can emit is that of bliss, appreciation and gratitude. I MUST find out if there’s anything to this LoA stuff so I’m announcing this all-out commitment today.
3. I’m pressuring myself to continue with my gratitude journal by putting it here online for the world to see. Sneaky, yes, but it’s too easy to start and not finish. This is the Pressure Sydney To Stick To A 30 Day Journal Project. :-D
What To Do For The Next 30 Days?
Every day I’m going to write 10 reasons to be grateful. That’s 300+ blessings over the next month. At the end of that time, I’ll evaluate how I feel and what results I’ve had. I think that’s giving this gratitude stuff a fair trial, don’t you?
An important point: we don’t need to limit our gratitude to major events. You know, like “I won a $100 million dollar lottery”, “I’ve figured out how to make a cell phone battery that will stay charged for a year” or “Harrison Ford is my new boy friend”. In fact, the ‘smaller’ events of our lives are more important in a way because they’re less likely to be noticed – and there are so many more of them. Victor Frankl found reasons to be joyful IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP!!! How can we then complain, gripe and feel sorry for ourselves?
Sydney’s Gratitude Journal Day 1
1. We had a beautiful rain storm last night. The grass, trees and flowers have been looking pretty parched and sad lately so they’re bound to be singing and partying today. Go plants.
2. I am thrilled that it’s September, which is the emotional start of autumn, even if it isn’t so on the calendar or even the weather. Hot, humid weather wears me out and I love the crisp fall temps and autumn is about to roll over us in a huge wave. Yeah!
3. I just came back from my chiropractor’s office and I feel so loose and peaceful. My neck and shoulders aren’t tense and, actually, I feel like taking a nap. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …
4. My granddaughter gave me a gift that she picked out herself. They’re three ‘solar flowers’. They’re flowers in a plastic pot that rotate from side to side when the sun is on them and right now they’re waving cheerfully away. So adorable and a reminder of how much I love my precious four year old grandbaby (although she constantly tells me she’s a ‘big girl’ now and no longer a baby).
5. I’m wearing black shoes today. What’s the big deal about that? It’s that I’m tired of white shoes and purple crocs and am thrilled to be wearing “winter shoes” for the first time in this season.
6. My son and I are doing a project together using the book Tapping Into Wealth, by Margaret Lynch. It’s exhausting at times but very worthwhile and I will have more to say about it in future blog posts. It makes the whole project easier and more meaningful when I have a partner in it and he’s so supportive and helpful.
7. I appreciate and adore my Nexus tablet. I take it to bed with me every night and it’s astonishing that I can lie in bed and play gin rummy, or read sites from all over the world, or read books or even talk to other people. Communication in these days is beyond amazing. Besides that, my tablet was a gift from my wonderful daughter and it’s a reminder that she loves me, just as I love her.
8. I’ve been practicing deep breathing lately and am noticing its effects on my body. My asthma seems better and I’m looking forward to seeing what changes will occur in my body.
9. I cleaned up the kitchen a short while ago and noticed how much food is in my kitchen and pantry. We are so blessed to have an abundant food supply which wasn’t true for most of humanity in the past million or so years.
10. I am so grateful for my local library. I love to read and paying $25 or so for a hard back novel that I will read only once seems so wasteful, especially when you’re a voracious reader like I am.
And now it’s your turn -will you join me in writing your own daily gratitude list? It’s just for one month. How hard can that be? And who knows, miracles just might happen. If so, please let us know.
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