We’re living in strange times; that’s for sure.
It may sound crazy, but I’ve seen some really interesting attitudes reflected in social media posts these last couple weeks. Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and by the time I was scrolling through my feeds before bed, I noticed post after post from many of you commenting that this was the most wonderful Easter you can remember. It seems when we strip down all the ‘extra’ stuff we elevate during our pre-pandemic lives and focus on the essentials we seem to have more room to focus on all the things that truly are most important.
Back to Basics: Family. Health. Shelter. Food. Relationships. (in no particular order, of course)
I’ve also seen folks posting about how grateful they’ll be to get back to their office or school, to hear there’s a wait at their favorite restaurant to be seated or to watch a sporting event (in person or on TV.) The list goes on and on. I live at the beach and never even realized how awful it is to see the ocean every day but not be able to go sit down there and enjoy it. I won’t take that for granted again.
Every night before we fall asleep I ask my husband what the best part of his day was. It’s my way of ending the day in a mindset of gratitude- even in hard times. I’ll be honest, on those hard days, it can feel difficult to figure out what we’re grateful for that doesn’t seem silly. And that’s how I know it’s more important than ever to make sure we do it. During times of difficulty, gratitude is sometimes mind over matter. We have to make ourselves focus on it!
So what lessons can we learn from this refocus on realizing what’s important during these trying times, and how do we hold onto them when life gets back to ‘normal?’ (Also, what is ‘normal?’)
Some things I think can of to help us hold on to the gratitude we feel:
Keep a gratitude journal. On your own (or bonus points if you include input from your family each day) write down what you’re thankful for. Nothing is too big or small. One day I was grateful I got to snuggle with my three sweet puppies, and another day all I could write down was that I was grateful my family has avoided the Corona Virus. The thing is, I know when this has passed, it will be interesting to look back on this journal, and use it to recenter myself when it’s needed. You certainly don’t need anything more than a spiral bound notebook to write in, but if you (like me) enjoy beautiful books/journals, there’s a gratitude journal in the LetterJess shop that would be perfect to start writing in during this time. You can find it here.)
Make a vase of happy thoughts. One year for my birthday a friend gave me a glass vase filled with small pieces of paper. On each piece of paper was a memory of something fun we’d done together, a funny saying/inside joke, or a quote that meant something to us. The purpose of this jar was so I’d be surrounded by things that would make me smile. If I was having a hard day, or feeling lonely, all I had to do was read a piece of paper from the vase and a smile was not far behind. It was a spectacular gift! (Maybe an idea to pass time with your family is to not only make a happy thought vase for your home, but make one to send to a friend or family member during this quarantine!)
Send a note in the mail to a friend. Tell them why you are grateful for them or share a fun memory you have together that has made you smile. In this time of feeling distant from each other, finding an unexpected note in the mail could be an amazing pick-me-up for someone you love. If you can’t get something in the mail, a text or email like this is also a special treat for someone to receive.
My challenge to you is to take time to focus on what you’re grateful for. We’ve all heard it said before, but it’s true:
When we are truly grateful for all we have, it becomes enough.
I hope you know how grateful I am you’re here. Your support means the world to me, and I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do something I love if it wasn’t for you. What are you grateful for today?
