As part of my morning routine I started doing gratitude journaling more regularly. Pia inspired me to do this practice at the beginning of 2024 (based on a post by Lida Pavlova), but I hadn't found the right way to integrate it into my daily life until earlier this year. Now, I keep a notebook dedicated to this next to my bedside, and I try to fill a page after waking up.
Usually, I start sentences like this:
- "I'm grateful for..."
- "I'm so grateful for..."
It feels really good to start the day this way and to practice focusing my attention on what I already have, instead of on what's missing. It lets me navigate my days with more appreciation, even when difficult situations arise.
However, I realized that the word grateful sometimes feels a bit "mechanic" to me and that I don't always feel what I'm writing down. This is okay–the practice has an effect even in situations when I don't feel it deeply. But I still think there's room for improvement.
I'm currently experimenting with a small, but powerful adjustment:
Love
As part of working with Life Beyond Suffering, I've been practicing setting an intention every day. Last Friday, I woke up with a bit of a scattered mind and some anger arising here and there. I decided to set Love as an intention that day, to really challenge myself and see how far I can take it.
In the afternoon, I took my sketchbook and wrote down things starting with this:
- "I love..."
- "I love, when..."
- "I love it, when..."
I wrote a few pages and noticed an immediate shift in my mood. By using "I love..." I was able to come up with very specific examples. I could really feel the gratitude–what I wrote felt real.
The effect lasted the whole day. Pia and I met up in the evening and went on a wonderful adventure through Berlin. We were present and grateful for everything that was offered to us and ended up on a hill watching the full moon and even catching an amazing shooting star.
Synchronicity
My love journaling that day started like this:
"I love gliding across the lake on a stand-up paddleboard. I love diving into the cool, clear water. I love it when the sun shines warmly and pleasantly on my body.”
I was recalling an experience I had with my parents in July and already thought I wasn't going to have this again this summer. At that moment, I completely forgot that Pia and I were about to join a deep rest gathering with a loving group of people involved in the Palestine and Collective Liberation movement. I already knew there would be a lake, but when we arrived, we discovered that there were a few stand-up paddleboards available.
So, a few days after writing this, I had the exact experience I was visualizing.
Life can be quite magical.