1/25/2024 0 Comments Gratitude oprah winfreyOthers are for the things we all take for granted sometimes: family members sleeping peacefully, the health of our loved ones, wonderful friends, a job I love, and last but not least, the readers who have made me a writer. Just as SBB writes in her January 14th reflection, some of the things I am grateful for are big, urgent things, like a loved one pulling through a risky surgery or arriving safely home through a storm. Every so often, I read through old journals to remember the bright moments of days gone by. In her book What I Know For Sure, Oprah extols the virtues of gratitude. It’s always with me, password protected, and it is rarely missed. If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough. I enter my five things, add a photo, and read an inspirational quote. Now I have a Gratitude Journal app on my phone.Įvery night at 10:30 pm, I get an alert that asks me what I am grateful for. Days, weeks, and even months would be missed when I depended on the pretty books. I used to use pretty books that my Aunt Pat gave me, but I often didn’t have it with me when I thought of writing. When I wake up each morning, I am aware that I have got to be on the look-out for five things to put in my gratitude journal each night. I consciously write down five things each day that I am grateful for and have made it a long-term habit. Even on the most difficult days, in times of great loss, I am now able to look at things in a more positive light than I had previously. The more consistently I write them, the more positive my perspective is on life. I have written diaries since I was a young teen, but I only started writing a gratitude journal in my thirties. ![]() I love how she looked at her "life’s ledger" in this reflection and the January 14th one that follows that explains the concept of The Gratitude Journal. If you are reading Simple Abundance right now, you may have read about Gratitude in the January 13th meditation when Sarah BanBreathnach (SBB) identified an "inner awareness" that opened her eyes to the power of gratitude. ![]() What were the intentions behind them? Was I perceived as someone who complained too much, or wasn’t grateful for the good things in my life? Personal recommendations made me suspicious. It was one thing to hear Oprah explain the transformative power of her own gratitude journal to an audience of millions, and quite another to receive personal recommendations to start a one myself and/or read Simple Abundance. Years ago when I heard others speaking of the impact that gratitude had made in their lives, I inwardly rolled my eyes. From fresh flowers to the kindness of a stranger, Oprah says acknowledging these things made her more receptive to the goodness in her life. And the more grateful you are, the more you get.” Sixteen years ago, Oprah started a gratitude journal and, every day, began writing down five things she was grateful for. “The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now.
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