Hopefully, this post reaches you in a peaceful, pleasant mood as you relax in your easy chair, glass of wine in hand, and a glimmer of curiosity in your eye. For many people, that is not the case as the holidays approach and most especially not this holiday season which follows a particularly divisive election term.
The holiday season can ignite feelings of depression, anxiety, and grief for many people. When people have lost family and friends, lack the resources to buy expensive gifts, and do not receive invitations to holiday parties, the season can be miserable. Even people who are normally comfortable can experience depressive feelings due to social isolation, increased stress, and lacking exercise.
Yes, the holidays are a time for assembled family members to sit around the table and share a meal; it is a time for friendly parties and cranberry cocktail and sequined dresses and gifts wrapped in golden paper. For some people, the holidays allow for a season of joy and an appreciation of life. And although the holiday season can bring about such different reactions from people, we can all benefit from taking time to reflect on the positive elements in our lives.
Creative journaling practices can provide a healthy alternative to despondency and give all people, writers and non-writers alike, an opportunity to be mindful. When people reflect, they mentally move outside of the present stressors and into another mindset. They can see, feel, hear, smell, and taste memories. We all have some positive memories and something in the present to be thankful for, even if tapping into those memories can be challenging at first. Not only can we access the positive moments of the past but through gratitude journaling, we can identify the thankful elements of the present.
Gratitude journaling is a process of seeking out those details within our lives that are worthwhile, valuable, and noteworthy. They are the moments in life worth remembering and worth being grateful for at any time. Over the past two decades, multiple studies suggest that gratitude journaling can increase happiness, improve quality of sleep, and lessen symptoms of illness.
A gratitude journal can look different for different people. One person may prefer to use an audio recording application on a smart phone to collect anecdotes, ideas, and thoughts about things to be grateful for. Another person might prefer a Moleskin paper journal that fits into a pocket and holds onto appreciative stories. Another might opt for a Google document, which can be added to any time of day via phone, computer, or tablet. Our methods for housing our thoughts are as varied and open to creativity as our personalities.
A gratitude journal should not just be a bulleted list of the five things you are thankful for. Sure, that style is helpful in a pinch or as a brainstorm to get the creative juices flowing. But if we really want to experience the stress relief that gratitude journaling can offer, then we have to dig a bit deeper than a one work answer.
How can we write for a deeper sense of gratitude in our writing practices?
There can be a benefit from jotting down the 5 things we are grateful for in a day, yes. But journaling with a more in-depth approach can achieve a greater overall sense of emotional balance for writers. Try writing about fewer things you are thankful for by writing more in depth about each of those. For example, I could list off the 5 things a day that I am thankful for, but that habit is likely to wear off and leave me bored in short time. If I spend more time writing about one or two elements in my life each week (e.g. I am thankful for having kids who love reading) and write more intensively about those elements, my appreciation for them increases significantly.
Sure, you are thankful for last night's thunder storm. You could include "Thunder storm" on your gratitude journal or you could include the fantastic details about the evening to capture its terrifying beauty and intensity.
Many of the things we are thankful for span many eras of our lives: past, present, and future. I am thankful for my husband because, although we do not always agree, we do not fight. Never have. Never will. For sixteen years, we have rationally discussed our differences, agreed to disagree, and created a system where we can talk about our concerns without fighting. These behaviors took years to perfect and will continue to improve over time. Think about elements from any time period of your life that have affected you, do affect you, or will affect you positively.
I do not love my morning coffee for the coffee itself. I love it because I wake up at 5am, make coffee, and sit on the couch to write for two hours before anyone else wakes up. 5-7am is my time. It is my daily ritual of coffee, my computer, and my stories. It is the time that I set aside for myself, and it provides me sanity, contentment, and calm throughout the day. Make journaling into a ritual. This ritual could include the things you love: a hot drink, candles, a warm bath, a glass of wine, the Beatles White Album playing in the background, or any other element that will help you to create a ritual around your gratitude journaling.
Journaling brings up emotion, and some of that emotion can be raw. Allow yourself a bit of time to feel the grief, sorrow, or anger that is stirred up by thinking of the best parts of life (e.g., the letter I have from my dad with his final words). Savor the elements that give you a grateful heart. Then let go and move forward. Anyone who has experienced grief or loss knows that the longing does not go away; we carry it with us into the future, but how we carry it, with grateful hearts or miserable hearts, is up to how we process it. Focus on your gratitude as you process.
It is perfectly acceptable to go off in your journal. It is OK to yell, scream, cry, and be totally belligerent during journaling. Journaling is a process of letting go and finding balance. Keep your eye on the goal of contentment when writing about your lower inner emotions. Focus on the gratitude that follows the difficulty.
Following a painful social event, I took a few days off of life. I stopped writing. I had no words. My heart bled with sorrow. I recognized quickly that people around me were equally miserable and decided to do something about it, so I invited over some friends to color, assemble puzzles, and play board games. By engaging my friends to grieve together, no one was alone. We were still reeling from loss, but we were together, and that created a practice of gratitude that we shared.
From death comes life. From loss comes life. From letting go comes new life. The circle of life has never changed in all the thousands of years that humans have walked this earth. Recognize that within the circle of life, the natural cycle, and the hero's journey that new opportunity springs from the ashes of loss. Write about your future as you write about your past and present in your gratitude journal. It is OK to write about how the student loans that are causing you to work overtime to pay also allowed you to learn and grow as a person and a professional and will create opportunities for your future to work in your chosen field of expertise.
Many writers will doodle, draw, paint, or create music while writing. As you journal about the elements of life for which you are thankful, balance that with the artwork of your choice. Compose a song. Doodle the edges of your journal. Paint a watercolor of the seascape for which you are grateful because it brings you stability and beauty.
As we move through life, no two days are truly the same. We change, we stagnate, we grow, we lose, we gain, and we move forward. Know that within your gratitude journaling practice, you will change, your insight will shift, and your viewpoints will evolve. There is nothing wrong with this. One day you may be down and only thankful for the brief attention from your cat, but the next day you may be raised up and grateful for the cat, the changing leaves on the trees, the quiet neighbors, the bus always being on time, and the smell of pine needles on the air.
Each day we are ourselves—a little different from the day before. As the fall shifts closer to the holiday season, may your gratitude journaling bring you to a peaceful, pleasant mood as you relax in your easy chair, glass of wine in hand, and a glimmer of curiosity in your eye. Be grateful and be content.
​As we walk our own paths, we have to take care of ourselves, and journaling is one way to achieve a sense of mindfulness and calm in an ever-changing world.
As we move out of the election season and into the holiday season, some people may experience greater depression and anxiety. Journal writing can help to lessen and even alleviate those dark feelings. Pick up a copy of Paint & Ink: A Creative Journal for Women Who Write or sign up for Paint & Ink: The Creative Writing Course for Women.