the gratitude jar

I love pinterest and at this time of year there are all sorts of pins about great habits or practices for the year ahead. The gratiude jar is one. The concept is that write down all the things you are thankful for each day, and then reflect at the end of the year. You may recall that last year I had a gratitude jar too. And the reality? My gratitude jar sat on the bench near the kitchen all year. And sometimes I noticed it and sometimes I put a note of thankfulness in there. But most of the time it was just another ornament to dust around and move. 2013 is rapidly fading into dim memory and I have not even gone back and looked at those thoughts yet to reflect on what I was grateful for last year.

So this year I didn’t even start a gratitude jar. But I didn’t want to let go of the practice of gratitude. I feel that it is an important thing for me to cultivate and I just needed to find another strategy.

Back in November, Amanda from Capture 30 Days set a challenge for 2014 of a daily practice, and I was toying with the idea, but I knew I couldn’t blog every day. Next thing I know I found that I had a brand new 365 day journal sitting on my desk looking at me, ripe with all sorts of possibilities, poem for each day? Photo? What to do?

Then came Christmas. Oh Christmas … suffice it to say we spent more time in PMH than anyone wants to at Christmas. And finally collapsing into bed on Boxing Day, exhausted but grateful that we had finally received the right medication for our very sick child. I knew. And I started my gratitude journal that night. It sits by my bed and I have not missed a day yet.

Turns out that sometimes it is not so much forming the habit that is the challenge, but finding the right strategy that works for me.