how to pay it forward with gratitude

Pay it forward

have you ever heard of pay it forward?  it's when instead of paying back a good deed done for you to the person who did it, you instead do a good deed for another ...in effect paying the good deed forward & passing it on.

that to me is what writing in a gratitude journal { like my booklet journals } is about. paying it forward thru written recognition the good that happens in your daily life. all these small recollections & reflections will then have a chance to ripple out from you, spreading love and JOY to those around you and magically into the world as well.

...cause that's how The Universe works y'all.  one ripple of JOY at a time.

Red_Lattice Journaling Booklet

why gratitude?

a gratitude journal is a mental and physical reminder that, despite all the crazy that might surround your daily life, there is a whole bunch of good that happens around you and for you & with you in mind that you should you should take some time to bring awareness to it. { tweet that! }

[bctt tweet="a gratitude journal is a mental and physical reminder that, despite all the crazy that might surround your daily life, there is a whole bunch of good that happens around you & for you, with you in mind, that you should be bringing awareness to. " username="kgracehowes"]

the first time i heard of a gratitude journal was on oprah's show waaaaay back when.  my life was in a bit of shambles at that time trying to mentally process some issues hubby and i were having.  as i watched the program i remember thinking that it was a good idea but how could i, in the midst of such upheaval, have anything to be grateful for.

i was lost and felt very alone. 

after a very upsetting argument between us i retreated to my studio to lose myself in my quilting, and, instead, i sat and cried.  it was only then that i remembered oprah's show.  so i grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and tried to list all the positive things that i could think of that was & had happened to me.

it was a short, short list.

but the thing that that remuneration did was spark something in me.  it felt soooo good to see a light at the end of this long dark tunnel i was in.  i found a small booklet i'd set aside because it was to pretty to use  { yeh, i thought that way too about "pretty" blank books } and made myself write 2 things i was grateful for at the end of every single day.

btw.....i told no one what i was doing. this was my thing, my way to help myself and a way to feel personally fulfilled.

i did this for 5 years.  every. darn. day.  it not that that's how long it took to for us to get out of our marital slump but it became such a regular practice at the end of an evening to curl up and record my "gratefuls" { p.s  gratefuls is my new made up word...you like?}.  i became to so use to being present, alive and aware in every moment of my day.  i felt a sense of grounding and a piece of my soul got rejuvinated every time i wrote and reread my "gratefuls".

writing your "gratefuls" down in it's own special journal is a gift you give yourself. every. day.  it's another reason i like to use my booklets for that.  it's easy to tuck into a handbag or under the car seat and whenever a grateful comes to mind you pick up your booklet and record you moment of gratefulness.

i hope you begin or re-start your "gratefuls" practice.  collect them in a booklet and then check back in a year's time.  i bet you'll see the difference just that year makes, and how much better you view your world and the JOY that's in abundance.  you will have created that.  yup....YOU

leave a comment below on how you pay it forward or how you record your gratefuls.

in peace and JOY and with a grateful heart,

grace

it's almost time for the big reveal and shop RE-OPENING y'all! can ya feel how crackly good the air is?  it's JOY peaking its head out from atop a fluffy cloud because...the JOURNALS are coming! June 15th is the shop re-launch and i cannot wait!  but to get in on on all the goodies i have in store for my JLT-ers { that's JOY Love TRibe for short, lol }  you have to be a member.  sign up below and get in quick.   tick tock.  tick tock. lol