A Caregiver's Gratitude Journal

For numerous years, on and off, I have kept a gratitude journal. If you don't know what that is, it's simply a list you make each day of five things that you are thankful for. Why would anyone keep a gratitude journal? There are a number of benefits. Many people I know who keep a gratitude journal have noted that it helps to:

• keep you in the present.
• relieve stress (so important for caregivers!).
• direct your attention to the abundance in your life.
• balance you emotionally.
• manifest the sort of life you would like (this relates to the Law of Attraction).
• improve the quality of your spiritual life.

So how do you go about keeping a gratitude journal? Let's start with the journal itself and your writing implement. You can keep a gratitude journal on anything from pieces of scrap paper to an expensive leather journal, and anything in between. You can even make one yourself, or keep it on your computer or iPhone. I prefer to use a lined blank journal with an artsy cover. I especially love the lined journals that have magnetic closures.

Next, how often and when should you write in your gratitude journal? Daily is recommended. However, if you want to write more than once a day, go for it! Many people prefer to set aside a few minutes before they go to bed to do their writing, others prefer in the morning. Anytime you'd like is fine, as long as you set aside 5-10 minutes of quiet time to do this.

To begin, sit silently for a minute or so quieting your mind. Then focus on things in your life you're grateful for. It could be anything, from a loving, nurturing relationship, to the paper you're writing on. Begin to write. Write down five things you're thankful for, starting each sentence with "I am grateful for," or "I am thankful for," or any other variation such as "I am truly grateful for," or "I am so thankful for."

It is most important while you're writing that you think about what it is you're writing, to FEEL the gratitude, to FEEL the emotion of it, and stay in the feeling. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the feel of gratitude that I think of many more things for which I'm grateful, so I write them down as well, staying with the gratitude emotion.

That's it. That's all there is to keeping a gratitude journal. You'll see benefits the first time you try it.

A short meditation with Deepak Chopra on gratitude: