How To Begin A Gratitude Practice And Change Your Life (a guest post on Family Your Way)

The year I got divorced I struggled with a deep depression. Just getting out of bed each morning took monumental effort.The one thing that grounded me each day, and eventually helped pull me back to life, was a tiny journal that I kept on my headboard. Each night I would write down three things I was grateful for that day.  Just three. It cleared my head of the swirling thoughts and worries of my day so I could sleep. But more than that, those little lists helped remind me that there were things worth noticing and life beyond the sadness I was in the middle of.Some days what I recorded seemed so minuscule, like “the way the light hit the lake this morning” or “my cat was waiting for me at the door when I got home.” Reading the journal now, I can see where I began to heal.  I began to write things like, “I stood looking at bins of apples at the store today and felt nourished,” and, “Today I felt accepted for being myself.”  One day I wrote, “I felt happy for hours.”

Read the rest of this post and my tips on starting a gratitude practice on Family Your Way.