Today, in this modern technologically connected World in which we live, rarely do the majority take the time daily – to be grateful and thankful. It should be compulsory from the time we start our education at primary school, or ‘little school’ as lots of kids call it, where we should be taught about the benefits of daily gratitude journal writing! This should be a subject that some of a teacher’s time is spent daily explaining the benefits to young children from learning to write in a gratitude journal, every day. If worldwide this became a daily routine, a daily habit that one then carried on with throughout their entire life, imagine how positively different our World would be in 10, 20, 30 years’ time!
Daily Gratitude Journal Writing
Many of the most successful spiritual teachers and mentors, myself included, understand, and appreciate the profound benefits of daily gratitude journal writing. You know, it is a fact that if you are always grateful for something, no matter how large or small – it is impossible to be negative. An example that I always use as an example of something small to be grateful for is – having a pulse! Is this not THE most important event that happens every day in our life – having a continuous pulse? Remember when you wake each day and take your first breath, there are those in the world at that exact moment taken their last! Be grateful you are not one of them.
Awareness
We also need to be aware that it is not just the easy or simple things in our daily life that we need to be grateful for, but we also must be grateful for the difficult and challenging events or circumstances that we are confronted with. They may seem uncomfortable at the time and they often are, but ultimately the wise among us are aware that these are lessons we need to learn. We must accept them as opportunities to learn from moving forward, as we must on our life journey. At some point, we will come to realize that uncomfortable or challenging events in our lives are actually ‘gifts’ in disguise! It may be the breakdown of a valued relationship that is emotionally devastating when it occurs, but over the long haul, we become aware that ‘letting go’ of that particular relationship resulted in deep personal growth, or spiritual growth, allowing you to bloom.
Gratitude is Key
As we mature the wise among us come to accept that there is something to be grateful and thankful for in everyone and everything in our life. There is no long-term benefit in resisting or struggling with whatever happens to you because it was meant to be! Everything, every, thing, happens for a reason. Personally, I have found that when you surrender to all that happens in your life as being an act of God, then the more peaceful and content your daily living becomes.
I wrote about this exact concept in my book: LOOK WITHIN – Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life. I dedicated an entire chapter to this belief, to this knowing, and that specific chapter is titled: Be Grateful and Know that God has Your Master Plan. When one reaches such a point, they willingly surrender all that happens in their life to be in accordance with God’s Master Plan for their life, and a sense of serenity and peacefulness magically manifests in their daily living. Why? Because they accept on that deep inner level, at their spiritual level, that everything happens in accordance with God’s Master Plan. They understand and freely choose to unconditionally accept that God is in charge! Faith in this concept is an incredibly powerful force in your daily living, but one must surrender 100% to this belief, to this knowing. Furthermore, we do not get to see God’s Master Plan – we just get to live it! Let me quote you a short joke that I heard many years ago that puts the concept described here into context for you. Question – do you want to know how to make God laugh? Answer – tell Him about your plans!
Daily Habits
It is vital that we create this daily habit of being grateful for ALL that happens in our life, the good and the bad, and the best way to show gratitude is to write about it in a journal. As you may already be aware, our greatest battles in life are often internal – in our mindset.
Evelyn Underhill once wrote: “After all it is those who have a deep and real inner life who are best able to deal with the irritating details of the outer life”. Many are unaware of this universal law that Evelyn is describing here and that is why the following quote from Buddha is appropriate to express here: “The greatest weakness in life is lack of awareness”.
Evelyn Underhill and Buddha
The act of daily writing in a gratitude journal every day of the year five things that you are grateful for is the easiest, simplest way to subtly shift our mindset away from what we do not have in our lives, onto what we do have! The list of what we should be grateful for, and for which most simply take for granted each day is limitless. For example, for those living in most Western countries – ample rain and sunshine to grow our food, beaches to swim in, forests & nature to spend quality time in, clean running water at the turn of a tap, electricity at the flick of a switch, ample food to keep us healthy, doctors, nurses, police to protect us, truck drivers to shift our food, and so the list goes on. Daily writing in a Gratitude Journal is something that we should complete every day, not just some days! And be aware – the power is in the writing. Why? While you are writing you are focusing on what you have in your life to be grateful for and not on what you do not have. Or worse, you are not focusing on what someone else has and that you want! Such an attitude is the cause of much suffering. Daily gratitude journal writing is non-negotiable if you desire happiness, inner peace, and contentment in your everyday living!