Creating a Gratitude List

Many use this time of the year to debate the true cultural and historical facts of the day, get a ridiculous jump on their Christmas shopping, prepare for the invasion of friends and relatives, or clear out the supermarkets in the attempt to cook the ultimate holiday meal. This dark part of the year has a hold on me and I am still in a period of deep self-reflection mingled with grief. Knowing that this melancholy around my heart needs assistance to dissipate, I asked the Gods to send me the inspiration that would help move me forward out of the gloom. The answer that came was simple: create a Gratitude List.

Gratitude Lists are not limited to the Thanksgiving holiday. I first started using them when I was actively attending Al-Anon meetings. While I have not been to a meeting in almost 20 years, I have used them many times to get me unstuck when Life saw me dancing in a quagmire. As life changes, so do the lists. At different times of the year, I may need to reflect on different things I am thankful for. Gratitude Lists are a tool that can be useful all year round.

This exercise is not easy for some, because it is easier to think of the negative, rather than the positive. There are also standard answers that everyone puts on the list, which conveniently take up space to show good efforts made. By that I mean, 'I am grateful for my family, husband, kids, grandkids, etc'. While we are indeed grateful for those people in our lives, those 'given' or 'expected' items often become 'fillers' which avoid the true purpose of the Gratitude List. The List is designed to have us look at our lives and more importantly, ourselves. The List reflects our own feelings and attitudes, including those things we take for granted. These Lists are not graded, yet I have seem some write them as if they were afraid people would thing badly of them if they didn't include many magnanimous deeds. The List simply doesn't work that way.

The Gratitude List is a mirror you hold up to yourself. That is what makes it a wonderful exercise this dark time of the year and what makes it so frightening to many when they realize some things about themselves. Examine your life, your thoughts, your actions...see what works, what doesn't work, and what has gotten you here today. We could fill pages if we put the focus on things we are grateful for in OTHER people's lives. Yet when we sit down to focus on what we are thankful for in our own lives, we suddenly seem like strangers to ourselves.

Here, I will create my Gratitude List. You can make yours as long or as short as you want. I will list 30 items for each day of the month of November. You can make yours longer or shorter if you prefer. I also know of people who do journal writing, who start every day with something they are grateful for. There is no singular way to create a Gratitude List....just make it yours.

Lina's Gratitude List-November 2013
1-I am grateful for my darling husband, Sean. My love, my rock, my comedian, my partner in all things...
2-I am grateful for my closest friends...Debbie, Frank, Diane, and Clarissa...their love is a gift...
3-I am grateful for all the friends I've made in person and on Facebook....kind words, intelligent debate, kindred souls...they have made my life more colorful...
4-I am thankful for the job that sometimes (often) drives me crazy and allows me to support my family...and to have a lifestyle that I enjoy...
5-I am thankful for my little blue Cobalt that gets me from Point A to Point B safely...
6-I am grateful for Baby, my cat...a furry blessing on four paws...
7-I am thankful for being a diabetic. Even as often as I don't eat well, it makes me stop and consider how I am taking care of myself...and that I need to do better...
8-I am thankful for the fuzzy, pink leopard robe which is keeping me warm these chilly days and nights...
9-I am thankful for all of my working senses...including my inner guide...
10-I am thankful for the books, music, movies internet and art...all things which give me enjoyment, peace and escape every day...
11-I am thankful for my apartment...small, cluttered, cramped....it is my refuge and where my heart is...
12-I am thankful for my intelligence, my personal strength, and my ability to remain calm in crisis.
13-I am grateful for the sympathy shown to me by strangers...
14-I am thankful for the pleasure of sipping a good cup of coffee...
15-I am thankful for windows and the ever changing view outside...
16-I am thankful for the pain, grief and depression that serve to remind me that joy, happiness and contentment are my true states of being...
17-I am thankful for Magick in my life....
18-I am thankful for a good laugh...or even a giggle...it relieves negative energy in my faster than anything...
19-I am thankful for all the lessons....which helped me learn more about myself and allowed me to grow..
20-I am thankful for my slippers when my feet get cold...
21-I am thankful for the force in me that inspires me to write, take photos, draw, or be creative in a gazillion different ways that make me happy...
22-I am thankful for macaroni and cheese...and other comfort foods...
23-I am thankful for flannel sheets on cold nights...
24-I am thankful for piles of clutter that I must sort through....because having too much stuff still means I have enough of what I need...
25-I am grateful for the lawyer and his assistant who have helped me with the business of my parent's estate...their service may be paid for, but their support has been very much appreciated...
26-I am thankful for audiobooks....they make many long car rides go by quickly and happily...
27-I am thankful for the quiet of the house when everyone is napping...
28-I am thankful for the memories of my Mom and Dad....
29-I am thankful for my grief...because while I miss my Mom and Dad, missing them means I was blessed with their love...
30-I am thankful for another cup of coffee....