Tag Archives: gratitude

Gratitude Jar

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The Gratitude Jar. Every year I say I’m going to make one, and every year I don’t. Alright, in fairness, I only saw this idea on Pinterest a couple years ago but I’m choosing this year to be intentional about gratitude and so, here goes.

The idea is to get (make/decorate) a jar, try and write down something that you’re grateful for each day, put it in there, and read through them at the end of the year (New Years Eve). So before the happy thought or moment slips past, grab a post-it and pen, scribble it down (a memory, a thought, an emotion related to something, a moment you wish to hold onto) and pop it in the jar.

Gratitude Jar - just peachy blog

(Or you could get something a little more fancy like this – read more here).

Cliche ahead – but isn’t life made up of the small stuff? The chilli poppers your hubby bought on the way home from work, the smell of fresh clean linen, that extra long coffee and laugh-till-you-cry with a close friend, a song that inspires you, a surprise delivery of your favourite flowers, or when your toddler potty trains himself… (WHAT am I talking about? That’s NO small thing!!).

We are so so busy nowadays that it is easy to forget about the beauty and depth in these seemingly small things. Sure, jot down your trip to Thailand or your new convertible, but I think reading back, it’s going to be the new puppy who was added to the family, the look in your kids’ eyes at Christmas, your fave new recipe or the all-nighter spent playing Monopoly Deal with your besties that will bring the smile to your face on Dec 31.

Homemade Gratitude Jar

If you like reading some science behind it all, an article written by the Huffington Post concluded that regarding gratitude research, this is what has been found…

– A daily gratitude intervention (self-guided exercises) with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison.

– In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons and McCullough, 2003)

– Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.

– Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress. The disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions. Grateful people do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life.

Interesting huh? And so let’s hold onto these memories a little longer. The benefit of gratitude to the human spirit/soul is invaluable. Let’s live with thankful hearts and flex our gratitude muscle this year…

Gratitude

The Small Things

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This one is for Beth, Carrie, Amy & Katie. 

Watching Facebook, I’ve seen a fair few comments about the shallowness (harsh term, I know, or lack of depth) of recent posts. Which, I can understand.

I’ve also found myself feeling sad that very often those Facebook memories that pop up, take you back to a time when we used to write on each other’s walls and almost interact as humans (albeit online). Now it seems we’re simply reposting trending articles and sharing humorous pictures, arb celebrity statements or competition entires (nothing wrong with that – I love winning a good compo).

But something new struck me yesterday morning when my friend Carrie posted an Instagram pic online, and it’s this: how the most beautiful and profound things are often hidden within the little (seemingly normal) things. It’s not so much the artistically enhanced Madonna quote, or the breaking news about the worlds biggest sandpit, it’s the glimpses into people’s lives – and the small, quite regular activities that are real and beautiful and emotion-stirring.

Of my 4 closest Regent-wives-turn-moms who were a huge part of my community in Vancouver (we all had our kids together), Carrie is last one standing and is due to bid Vancouver farewell in the upcoming weeks. The end of an era. And yesterday morning, when this beautiful friend posted a pic of her 6 month old daughter on a picnic blanket in Almond Park with a Grounds For Coffee cinnamon bun, my heart was stirred. It was simple, normal and deeply rich – an experience anyone who has memories of a certain place will understand.

Because when you embrace it fully, I find that life really is made up of very many small moments. And those small things really matter.

Thinking about this on my way into work that morning, I swung past the post office to pick up a parcel. YAY. I love parcels! It was unexpected one, and from my friend Jo in New Zealand. She had sent me a much anticipated book, along with a block (slab) of Whittaker’s chocolate and her 3yr old sons art. Just the writing on the package struck an emotion. Nothing needed to be explained, all the contents were fairly small, normal things but each held an immense amount of meaning, memory and intentionality.

And that’s what counts. As a parent, it’s easy to click into autopilot. School lunches, bath time, brushing teeth, laundry, mismatched socks, squabbling siblings, toys EVERY-WHERE, unending mess, and nothing happening quickly enough. Then you stop, breathe and notice the smiles, the joy, the fun, the innocence in trying to pick up a snail and the winking eyes and loud giggles coming from these little humans. It’s the carefree ears-in-the-wind galloping of our dogs across the beach. It’s the warmth your lounge fireplace provides on a cold night, the getting lost in a good book or conquering of a crossword puzzle.

Sure there are the BIG things we can celebrate – and should celebrate; a new birth or adoption, the buying of your first home, or the finishing of a tough slog-filled degree. They deserve a huuuuge glass of champers. Absolutely. But I think those big ‘achievements’ often overshadow the very events that mean more (and often got us there in the first place), that occur continuously during the 24 hours we are given every day.

More often than not it’s reading the love letters from your then-boyfriend-now-husband or the taste of a $2 box of timbits that can inject one with inner joy. The sight of snow capped mountains or drinks off the back of a bakkie at sunset. It’s the endorphins that took you running around Stanley Park or climbing Table Mountain. It’s the sound of the bus stopping or the subway screeching; the smell of the sea or 7/11 (7/11 has a VERY distinct smell overseas – I think it’s that flavoured bottomless coffee). They’re like moments locked in time, all small and often mundane with deep meaning, memory, and enjoyment.

I think we forget that each and everything we decide to do, or decide not to do, collectively, forms habits, builds (or breaks down) morale, and paves a direction in which our lives then lead. And it’s the small experiences (and the gratefulness of them) that build upon one another and make all the difference.

And so be present during the weekend pancake breakfasts, the planting of herbs, jumping on a trampoline, the dripping of ice cream down a small hand, cuddling under a duvet, and reading of a storybook over and over and over again – make those moments count. Because they’re pointing towards something much bigger than what you imagine.

Don’t live on autopilot.