A Year of Gratitude. My #365grateful journey

A year of gratitude….

I think that we all know that we are blessed but do you stop to take a step back and just thank the powers that be?

How the #365grateful project found me

I took on a little project this year after reading a very inspiring blog post about a women’s journey through the blues and how she undertook a deliberate task of seeking out the small things to be grateful for everyday. She called this project “365Grateful” and it has caused a world-wide movement of reflection. I had just separated from my husband of over 8 years and my partner for 15 years, a heart-wrenching and life-changing moment in my life. I was struggling with guilt, mourning the loss of our love and friendship. This blog came to me at a time when I felt like the world as I knew it was crumbling around me and I needed to find something to hold on to. It was just before the new year of 2014, in fact, it may have been new year’s eve. So I made the decision to try this project out and shared it with my friends online, encouraging them to do the same.

Nothing too big or too small

Right when I decided to take the project on, I received a beautiful message from a friend and colleague (and former student of mine!) on Facebook telling me that she admired me. Me!?!? I’m just an ordinary person trying my best every day like everyone else. It put a big smile on my face and made me feel pretty special…it was my first post. An ode to a new year, a new me, a new outlook on life and the acceptance that I was willing to go on this journey.

I was starting everyday with the small goal of no matter how my day went, finding that one (or two or three) thing to be grateful for. Trust me, it is a different way of looking at the world. I was in a state of constant reflection, snapping pics throughout my day and then going over them at the end of the day to choose which one or group together to express my gratitude. It taught me to savour the small things, special messages, a beautiful day, cuddles from my dogs, time with friends and family. To celebrate the accomplishments big and small of me and my friends. It was what I needed….a tool to help me grow through the process that I was going through.

Reflection and sharing

I am often told and even sometimes criticized about what and how much I share. It is who I am, it is how I am feeling. High, low, good, sad, boisterous, reflective. Take it or leave it. I’m often surprised at how me sharing MY personal journey through life can make other people uncomfortable. In fact, there has been a noticeable and tangible shift in long time relationships and friendships. Some were interpreting my posts as me celebrating my separation – which couldn’t be farther from the truth. It was and is, a daily struggle for me, especially in the beginning, to find the things to be grateful for. It was really disappointing for me to learn that some of those that I felt would understand where I was coming from the most were the ones to misinterpret and make me feel judged. I didn’t let that stop me though. This was my process, this was my journey, this was my way of dealing with my grief and life change. I couldn’t afford to take their thoughts and actions, or lack thereof, personally. We all deal with our shit in our own way and to be absolutely honest, I didn’t need their permission to express myself.

I am a person that wears my heart on my sleeve. I love out loud. I cry out loud. I celebrate out loud. I grieve out loud. I laugh out loud. In fact I was voted the “Loudest in my Class” in physio school – a badge that I actually wear pretty proudly. I don’t ask or need others to approve of how I choose to navigate my journey because it is mine.

When I need to smile, it’s easy to look back

My #365grateful photo album is something that I look back at often.  In fact it is one of my favourite things to look at when I am feeling reflective. It never ceases to make me smile and remember how I was feeling when I took that picture to share. It is through sharing that I have experienced an incredible and unexpected outpouring of support, both publicly through comments and privately through messages. There are people out there, some close friends, some just acquaintances, that are cheering me on and encouraging me, holding out their hand to help lift me up and place me back on my path. People that look to their newsfeed everyday and choose to take notice of what I have been grateful for. To those that have reached out to me over the past year, I’m not sure you will ever know the positive impact that you have had. My gratitude to you is very real and from the heart.

This project has had such a positive impact on my life that I don’t intend on stopping once 2014 is over. I encourage you to go and find the small things to be grateful for everyday. How you choose to record them and if you choose to share them is up to you but I promise that your heart will grow a little bit each day when you choose to live it #365grateful.

If you would like to join me on my #365grateful journey, I welcome you to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. In the meantime, follow this link to take a look at what I have been grateful for this year…