Year of Gratitude
Gratitude Journal
Archived Five
If I write that I am grateful for being alive, and I have said that many times in my life, I feel now that it has to have some context, rather than simply be some bland statement that many of us make from time to time. In my case, this is often me talking about gratitude for life, despite having had poor health for the duration of my life. At other times, I am contrasting me being alive with the tragedy of friends and relatives who have passed away at an early age, particularly in the case of children. That can also be the case upon hearing about the deaths of many others following a natural disaster.
When it came to Covid, I was shocked, appalled, and saddened at the number of people who died, both in my own country, and throughout the world. I know that this has had a profound effect on people everywhere. It made me, personally, much more aware of my own mortality, and how fragile life can be. And ultimately, it gave me a very acute context for being grateful for being alive, regardless of any moments of survivor’s guilt I might experience.
I have started this entry in my gratitude journal with a rather extreme example of having some context behind any statement of gratitude that I make. When this year-long challenge was introduced by Delaney Patterson in Soul Magazine, I was instantly attracted to it because I have often felt grateful for things in my life. I will also add that I am not immune to tragedy, and I have experienced many negative emotions in my life, too, as I am sure is the case for all of us. But gratitude has seen me through many difficult times, and it ultimately prevails for me, as it allows me to apply positivity to my life, regardless of how challenging life can be at times.
Thus, I continue to be grateful to be able to write about gratitude, as it were. I don’t think a year-long challenge is too long, and I don’t think I will run out of things to say. I incorporate gratitude into my daily experience, which means it is an integral part of my life. I may lose sight of it sometimes, but it hasn’t gone away. And I may repeat myself over and over again, but for me, that is just a reaffirmation of the desire to live positively. It doesn’t make me a saint as I have the same human failings as everyone else, and I haven’t always behaved in a way that would make me proud of myself. I do, however, think that any one of us can learn to live positively. And, that can begin by becoming aware of the things we are grateful for, and why we are grateful for them.
Fraser
February 2024
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