The Kind of Gratitude That Doesn’t Require a Journal
I have a confession:
I’ve definitely rolled my eyes at a gratitude journal. When I think of them, I picture those perfectly curated pages asking you to jot down three things you’re grateful for… preferably before sunrise, herbal tea in hand, in a candle-lit room, with the gentle sound of waves lapping outside like some sort of wellness retreat fantasy. Lovely in theory. Slightly rage-inducing in practice when you’ve just stepped on a piece of Lego whilst trying to squeeze in your morning workout in front of the tv before the rest of the house wakes up.
But what I now realise is that gratitude doesn’t have to be pretty. It doesn’t even have to be written down. What matters is noticing it. Feeling it. Letting it land.
Lately, I’ve been doing just that. Not journaling, not meditating, not creating Pinterest boards of gratitude prompts, just becoming more aware of the moments that deserve a second glance.
Take this week…
We had a few “I don’t want to go to school!” mornings (complete with leg clinging and dramatic tears), but every single afternoon, I’ve picked up a happy, beaming little girl, chatting away in three languages and telling me about her day. And that contrast? I feel it. Every time. I find myself silently thinking, thank you. Thank you for her joy. Thank you for the teachers. Thank you for the tiny reminder that hard mornings don’t mean hard days.
Gratitude doesn’t always arrive with fanfare. Sometimes it’s tucked inside the mundane. The quiet. The “well, I wasn’t expecting that…” moments.
It’s also not about ignoring the mess, or pretending everything’s fine when it’s not. It’s about noticing what is working, what is good, even when the toddler is yelling and the dishwasher’s flashing an error code you’ve never seen before.
So, here’s my version of a gratitude practice:
Notice the shift from chaos to calm.
Clock the kind word, the smile, the support you didn’t expect.
Mentally say “thank you” when you catch yourself in a moment that makes you feel… something good. However small.
And if you’re in a bit of a funk? That’s fine too. Gratitude isn’t a cure-all, it’s just a gentle nudge that maybe, just maybe, it’s not all bad.
Final thought?
You don’t need a journal to practise gratitude. You just need a pause.
And if today’s moment of gratitude is that you’ve made it through the day without crying into your tea… well, that counts too.
