Giving Thanks Isn’t Just For Thanksgiving: My Daily Gratitude Practice
My best friend Lizbeth and I share a daily gratitude practice. Photo credit to Luce Photography of Bay City, Michigan.
Assuming the mad rush in the grocery store doesn’t kill you first, we are often oozing with gratitude this time of year: for our family, our friends, delicious food, and the lives we get to lead. But giving thanks isn’t just for Thanksgiving. This year, I challenge you to start a new tradition that you can carry past the holiday.
Two years ago, burnout and depression inspired me to reach out to my best friend and ask if she would start a gratitude practice with me. Because she’s amazing and because I often think we are the same person, she said yes. Each day, we text each other three things we are grateful for that day. The idea is to never repeat an item (to avoid constantly saying friends, family, shelter, etc.) and make it relative something you did or felt that day.
We’ve been doing it every day now for two years straight. Not only does it help me stay connected with her (as we haven’t lived near each other in many years), but it helps me stay connected with the present moment, the present day, what’s right in front of me.
On good days, this practice is easy, and I’m often texting more than my minimum of three things. I’m grateful for opportunities to try new things, for the sunset behind the mountain peaks, for a really fun climbing session with new friends, for a beautiful night sky in the desert. Sometimes it’s for the tiniest of things like the barista letting me stay an hour after they closed to use the wifi or having pancakes for dinner when I don’t feel much like cooking.
We have both found ourselves noticing these small moments throughout the day and remembering them for day’s end when we can share them with one another. I can’t explain how much this makes me pause and really appreciate something in front of me. I stop to think “I’m so including this in tonight’s share,” and then I just sit (or run, dance, twirl) with it, breathe in deeply, and feel a glimpse of peace.
And while this is an enjoyable practice on the good days, it’s the more challenging days where this practice is most rewarding. It causes us to look for moments of grace in the midst of whatever chaos life is throwing us.
During some of the hardest days of my life, this practice helped direct my focus away from everything I was losing and instead on to what I could hold close: a text from a friend that reminds me I’m loved, a song played in a yoga class that allowed me a moment of peace, a smoothie from the café that allowed me to get nutrition without cooking/eating.
Do a quick Google search, and you’ll find countless articles about all the great benefits of a gratitude practice: improves mental and physical health, promotes social connection, increase empathy, reduces aggression, etc. Being mindful and present will never steer you wrong.
How can you make gratitude a daily practice? Here are some ideas:
Keep a gratitude journal (yes it’s cliche because it works)
Make it a tradition to share around the dinner table (or around the breakfast table! There’s something to starting your day with gratitude.)
Share with your partner in bed before you go to sleep
Keep a jar with scraps of paper and a pen nearby. Write down a quick note and drop it in the jar when you’re feeling gratitude. Open and read them again on a birthday or special holiday.
Start a meditation ritual (can be for just one minute a day!) by closing your eyes with your hands in prayer. Visualize what your’e grateful for and take 5 deep inhales and exhales.
Reach out to your friend and start a texting ritual like Lizbeth and I have. Copy what we do, or put your own spin on it!
If you start a practice, please reach out and share with me what you decide to do! Even if you don’t, I encourage you to take a few minutes right now to count the blessings of the day and breathe into it.
I’m grateful for my ability to live life in the way I am, for the challenges and obstacles put in my way for me to get here, and for all of you to share with as my journey continues on.
