Gratefulness 101: A Course We Should all Register for
We are two weeks back at school. Classes are in full swing, Canvas is overflowing. The Vermont chill comes at night and then lingers into the morning. But things have changed on campus. With COVID-19, I feel like getting into the groove of coursework has been more challenging than in past semesters. Everyday I worry that I am going to fall asleep on a Zoom call or Echo 360 is going to make my laptop explode. It feels good to take things one day at a time.
So, that is where gratefulness comes into play.
During quarantine, it often felt debilitating to get out of bed because all days felt the same. Other than mastering my avocado toast recipe, everything else was mostly mundane and repetitive. On particularly tricky mornings, I began my day by thinking of 5 things that I was grateful for. Lying in bed, I would recite them in my head. Often, I was grateful for food. I always thought of my family and friends. After just one minute of reflection, I would feel better.
Thus began my gratefulness and manifestation journey.
Now, several months later, I keep a grateful journal. I log my thoughts every morning when I wake up and every night before I sleep. It feels very grounding to have 5 minutes to myself, twice a day. Sometimes we can forget to view our days holistically. It’s very easy to allow one negative experience to become our entire 24 hours. When we take the time to reflect, we will see that there was so much good in the day that was overshadowed. A delicious dinner. A Facetime call with your best friend. Getting 15 more minutes of sleep. Even though these aspects of the day seem small, they actually carry a lot of weight. Because if you can tell yourself: “sh*t I was on Zoom for 3 hours today, BUT my grandma sent me cookies!”, you remember that the whole day wasn’t so bad after all. With some practice, I began to look for the positive more frequently. Once I implemented gratefulness into my daily routine it became second nature to me.
So, that’s where the title of this article comes from. Gratefulness 101 is a (pretend) course that I took on my own. There was no professor, just me and my journal. I taught myself to take less for granted and grow a more balanced mindset. And I am still learning. I recommend practicing grateful thinking whenever you find the time. Even if you’re stressed back at school, you will recognize the things that ARE going well. If you focus on the good, more good will come into vision.
Some of my favorite resources (all under $20!):
-Gratitude: A Day and Night Reflection Journal (90 days) $13.35 Amazon Prime
-Dear Universe: 200 Mini-Meditations for Instant Manifestations by Sarah Prout $15.52 Amazon Prime
-You Already Are by Compendium $12.99 Amazon Prime