Gratitude Journal

A gratitude journal is a personal notebook where you regularly write down things you're thankful for. It can be anything, big or small, that brings you joy, comfort, or peace. The practice helps shift your focus to positive aspects of life, promoting a sense of appreciation and well-being.

In our culture, we seem to be programmed to always be looking for the next big thing; the next job, the next vacation, whatever.  We are not taught to recognize and even to celebrate what we already have.  This often leads to dissatisfaction, frustration, and burnout.  In the act of slowing down and adjusting our focus from the things as yet to be attained do we take our power back as well as our sense of peace and even satisfaction.  It is in the calm reflection that we allow ourselves, that the power lives.  The act of “taking back” your power by taking a moment for yourselves for no other reason than you value yourself is an act of great courage.  When we do this small thing, a great shift happens.

There is an old phrase, “birds of a feather, flock together.”  This phrase comes to me when I work with energy because it is the Law of Attraction or Magnetism. The Law of Attraction is the idea that like attracts like. Simply put, your thoughts, feelings, and energy can draw experiences, people, and opportunities into your life that match your internal state. It’s like magnetism: positive energy pulls in more positivity, and negative energy can bring in more challenges.

Like in another popular phrase, “Your vibe attracts your tribe” which means that the energy you put out into the world will attract people and things  who are on the same wavelength. If you’re upbeat and optimistic, you'll likely find yourself surrounded by others with similar energy. It's all about the energy you send out, whether it's positive or negative, coming back to you in various forms.  In short, focus on cultivating the energy and mindset you want to attract into your life!

So what does all this mean?  To focus on the things we value, enjoy and want more of, will attract more of those things in our daily life.  The universe, in whatever concept, hears our thoughts.  When our thoughts are focused on all the negative, more negative is likely to come.  When our minds are focused on positive things, things we like and enjoy, more of THOSE are attracted to us.  This is how we manifest.  This is how we create our dreams in our physical reality.

So how do we do that?  How do we resist our old ways of thinking and refocus?  How do we break the habit of looking for the lack, focusing on the negative? One simple way is to be in gratitude for what is in the NOW.

We are blessed in hundreds of ways all day every day IF we know what to look for:

Did you wake up today?

Did you sleep in a home (in whatever configuration)?

Did you eat today? Yesterday?

Did you feel the sun on your face?

Did you feel the breeze in your hair?

Are you educated in any way?

Do you have a favorite food?

Do you have a favorite scent?

Do you have a favorite song or genre?

Have you ever had a friend?

Did you answer yes to ANY of the above?  More than one? Every one of these is a blessing.  Yes, it is, to say the least, foreign to think of things so small, so ordinary as a “blessing.”  And yet they are.  These, and infinitely more, happen to each person every-single-day. Happiness is found in things large and small.  

Now are you ready to manifest more of what you want into your life?  Let’s start with aligning our energy to how we WANT to feel so we can attract more of that feeling.  Let’s start with gratitude.

Start with choosing a journal you like.  Can’t find one? You are allowed to MAKE one!  You have all the permission in the world you need to make what you want to have in your life.  As soon as you have the journal you want, start with a simple list.  It will feel awkward at first and get easier with practice.  

Start simple: “I am grateful that I can breathe in and out.  I am grateful that I slept in a place that was warm and dry.  I am grateful I had breakfast.”

Then expand your gaze: “I am grateful to hear the birds chirping outside.  I am grateful to have a slice of cake after dinner.  I am glad to see my neighbor wave at me.  I am grateful I wore my favorite shoes today. I am grateful that I am educated enough to write my thoughts down.”

Then expand even wider: “ I enjoyed laughing and connecting with my friends at lunch today.  I am so happy that I chose to stand up for myself today and not allow that person to violate my boundaries!”

Keep expanding.  Keep looking.  Keep finding all the ways YOU enjoy life and the world around you.  This is an indispensable skill in your quest to build the life you are happy to wake up and live every day.

Happy journaling!

**It is worth noting that a gratitude journal should in no way serve as a tool to bypass or become in denial of non-positive experiences and feelings.  All feelings are valid and serve to teach us something about ourselves and the world.  In order to better understand all our feelings, further healing modalities need to be considered to unlock ALL our potential as individual souls and to create our more integrated human experience.

Luna Ravenwing LLC