The Power of Gratitude: How journalling can help you pause, reflect & reconnect 💚✨

Why gratitude isn't about pretending life is perfect - and how putting your thoughts onto paper can create space to notice what really matters.

I have talked a lot recently about gratitude and after pulling it for last week’s Energy Whisper I knew that I wanted to delve into it a bit more and what better way than my blog.

Gratitude

It sounds so simple, doesn't it? But how often do we actually stop and notice what we have to be grateful for? I am not just talking about the big things like holidays, celebrations, exciting news or milestones, I mean the really little things that happen throughout an ordinary day that we can so easily overlook.

✨The warmth of the sunshine on your face

✨The smell of your morning coffee

✨A message from someone you love

✨A good laugh

✨A beautiful view

✨A bird singing outside your window

✨That first deep breath when you finally sit down after a busy day

Sometimes, it's those tiny moments in your day that bring us back to ourselves – and that’s where gratitude and journalling come together so beautifully.

 Gratitude doesn't mean everything is perfect!

I think sometimes gratitude gets misunderstood.  It can sound as though we're being told to simply look on the bright side and be grateful, give thanks and be positive regardless of what is happening in our lives.

That is most definitely not how I see it and you…

✔️can be grateful and have a difficult day

✔️can appreciate your life and still feel exhausted, overwhelmed, frustrated or emotional

✔️can be going through something really challenging and still notice one tiny moment that makes you smile

Gratitude doesn't mean ignoring the difficult stuff, or pretending that everything is wonderful when you know it isn't.

For me, it's more about learning to hold both, a bit like like Yin and Yang there can be:

✨darkness and light

✨tears and laughter

✨days when everything feels overwhelming and heavy, alongside those little moments that remind you there is still beauty all around you

And sometimes, or I should say a lot of the time when we're caught up in the busyness of life, we simply don't notice them.

 Why do we overlook the little things?

I think modern life can make this really easy to do, that hamster wheel of busyness that I so often talk about. We're constantly thinking about what needs doing next.

The emails or messages that need answering, the appointments, shopping, work, the house, people who need us…

All of the things we're worrying about, trying to fix and before we know it, we're through another day without really stopping to ask ourselves:

➡️How am I actually feeling?

➡️What has made me smile today?

➡️What am I grateful for?

Our attention can become so focused on what's missing, what's wrong or what needs to change that we forget to notice what's already right here in front of us.

That's why I love the idea of looking for ✨little glimmers.✨

You don't have to wait for something huge or life-changing to happen, sometimes the glimmer is incredibly small.

✨The sun coming through the window

✨A warm cup of tea or coffee

✨Your favourite song coming on

✨Someone making you laugh

✨The feeling of your feet on the grass

✨A moment of quiet and calm

✨A hug (so underrated!)

✨A beautiful sunset or sunrise

✨Or simply being grateful that you have another breath in your body. ✨Every breath is a blessing✨

 Journalling gives your thoughts somewhere to go

This is one of the reasons I've come back to journalling again and again. Not only do I love writing, for me, journalling can become a place where I can get some of the noise out of my head and down onto paper. There really isn't a right or wrong way to journal, you don't need beautiful handwriting or a fancy journal. You don't need to write pages and pages every morning, in fact you don’t even have to write every single day - you can simply pick up a notebook whenever you want and start with whatever is sitting at the front of your mind.

Perhaps it might be:

✨gratitude

✨frustration

✨a question I don't know the answer to

Sometimes it's a list of things I need to get out of my head and sometimes I don't know what I think or feel until I start writing

💜Sometimes you don't know what you're thinking until you give yourself somewhere to write it down.💜

 Journalling isn't just writing about your day

When people hear the word journalling, they might imagine sitting down and writing a diary entry about everything they've done. But it can be so much more than that. 

Journalling can give you space to:

• slow down and pause

• express thoughts and emotions

• reflect on something that's happened

• notice patterns in how you're feeling

• recognise what gives you energy and what drains you

• celebrate your progress

• explore something you're unsure about

• reconnect with what matters to you

• notice the little things you're grateful for

• give yourself a few moments of quiet in an otherwise busy day

And sometimes, simply getting something out of your head and onto paper can help you look at it differently. Not necessarily to find an immediate answer or to fix everything - just to create a little more space around it.

 What if you started journalling about gratitude?

I am not asking you to commit to a huge journalling practice. Why not just start with five minutes?

Grab yourself a notebook, find somewhere comfortable and take a few deep, slow breaths.

Then write down ✨three things you're grateful for today.✨

They can be absolutely anything, maybe:

✨someone made you laugh

✨you had a lovely cup of coffee or your favourite meal

✨you got outside in nature

✨you had a good conversation

✨you made it through a difficult day

✨you're grateful for your body carrying you through another day (personally I am grateful for this every day living with a chronic condition 🥰)

✨you're simply grateful for being here

Then, rather than just writing the thing down and moving on, pause for a moment and ask yourself:

➡️What did that moment give me?

Did it give you comfort?

Joy?

Connection?

Peace?

Hope?

A feeling of being loved?

A sense of freedom?

Or simply a few moments where you felt present?

That's where I think gratitude becomes something we actually feel, rather than just a list of things we're supposed to be grateful for.

 Your gratitude journalling is personal and doesn't have to look like anyone else's 💜

I really want to emphasise this because I think we can sometimes turn even the things that are meant to support us into another thing we feel we're doing “wrong”. Honestly, there really is no wrong way to do it.

✖️You don't need to journal every morning at 5am

✖️You don't need the perfect journal

✖️You don't need to fill three pages every day

✖️You don't need to follow someone else's journalling routine

Perhaps you write one sentence, maybe it’s ten pages or, maybe you prefer to draw (or scribble!), write a list or start with a question – everyone is different.

If you feel stuck perhaps simply start with writing:

Today I am grateful for...

And see what comes through for you – let your journalling practice be your own.

 Some gratitude journalling prompts to get you started✨

If you're not sure what to write or where to start, below are a few prompts that you can try if you wish (you don’t have to use them all):

➡️What am I grateful for today?

➡️What little moment made me smile?

➡️What beauty have I noticed today?

➡️Who am I grateful to have in my life?

➡️What am I proud of myself for?

➡️What has given me energy today?

➡️What has drained my energy?

➡️What does my energy need from me right now?

➡️What am I ready to let go of?

➡️What am I ready to receive?

➡️What is one thing I want to remember from today?

And one of my favourites:

➡️What am I grateful for about ME?✨

Because gratitude isn't only about appreciating other people, our circumstances or the things around us - I think we can forget to appreciate ourselves too!

 Coming back into your heart

The message from Hiddenite crystal last week was one of opening the heart and coming back to love and gratitude.

And I am thinking that perhaps that's the invitation for all of us.

When life feels busy, overwhelming or noisy, we can become so focused on everything happening around us that we lose touch with what's actually happening within us.

Sometimes we need to :

✨pause 

✨breathe

✨put our feet on the ground

✨step outside

✨put our hands over our heart

✨write down what we're feeling

✨notice the little glimmers that are all around us - that bring us joy🥰

✨remember that even on the difficult days, there can still be something beautiful that we notice

And journalling can become one small way of creating that space just for yourself.

 A little gratitude practice for this week

If you'd like to join me, take five minutes at the end of your day this week.

✨Make yourself a drink ✨Put your phone down ✨Take 3 slow, deep breaths

Then write down:

➡️Three things I'm grateful for today

➡️One thing that made me smile

➡️One thing that gave me energy

➡️One thing I noticed about myself

And finally ask:

➡️What does my energy need from me tomorrow?

You don't need to analyse the answers, just notice - because awareness is often where change begins.

 You don't have to wait for life to be perfect

I think that's probably the biggest message I'm taking from this week's Blog - we don't have to wait until everything is sorted, our lives are perfect or we've finally reached that imaginary point where everything feels easy. I can guarantee you that there will always be something, another busy week, a challenge, another thing to work through.

But…  there will also be:

✨Sunshine on your face

✨Laughter

✨Music

✨Nature

✨Connection

✨A warm drink

✨A beautiful moment

✨A deep breath

✨A tiny glimmer that you might have missed if you hadn't slowed down enough to notice it

So perhaps this week, rather than asking “What is missing?”, try asking:

➡️“What is already here that I can appreciate?”

And if your mind feels busy, try grabbing a notebook. You don't need to know exactly what you're going to write – just start.

Sometimes, when we give our thoughts somewhere to go, we create a little more space to hear ourselves and that may be exactly where we need to begin.

Every breath is a blessing 🤍

I would like to thank each and every one of you that take the time to read my blogs. 🥰

Love & light,
Donna Marie 💚✨

If you're feeling overwhelmed, disconnected from yourself or simply craving a little more space to pause and reconnect, this is something we can explore together through Reiki and Energy Coaching. You don't need to have everything figured out before you reach out. Please feel free to drop me a message to find out more information. 💚

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