The Gratitude Jar

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada in early October as thanksgiving approaches in the US seemed like an appropriate time to share our gratitude jar.

As I have shared in previous posts in 2022 and 2023 we experienced two miscarriages. ?The first one hit me really hard and I was at my lowest point it happened in November of 2022 and as we were approaching the new year I found myself drowning in everything that was not going my way.

I asked my partner for help and sent him a post abut a gratitude jar on Instagram. Essentially, each week you write down one thing you are grateful for that week and then at the end of the year you open each paper and reflect on the past year. ?

So we started, on Sunday of each week of 2022 we wrote down one thing we were grateful for from that week, it could be anything. ?That year wasn’t without its low points, another miscarriage, losing my childhood dog, a roof leak that lasted months, it felt like continued loss and hurdles. However, we persevered and each week we wrote down one thing we were grateful for.

I learned a few things: ?

Even when it is cloudy the sun is still there. You know when you are flying and you break through the clouds and it is sunny day above the clouds? This is a good reminder that the sun is always there even when you cannot see it, a good reminder that even when you can’t see it or feel it hope is still there.

Time to stop and reflect. I took time each week, even if it was 5 minutes, to reflect on all the things that I was grateful for - some weeks I was so fortunate, it was difficult to pick just one.

A chance to relive the good. As we opened the gratitude notes we had the opportunity to relive the good things and the moments that each of us were grateful for. I find it easier to remember the bad moments and this allowed us to relive our highlight reel of the past year. Each moment had 3x impact - when it happened, when I wrote it down and when I read it.

As I reflect on our notes of gratitude one theme remains strong – they were all moments, time spent with loved ones, wins or funny stories. Not one was an item.

I think about what brings me and my family joy it is time together, moments that matter and adventures! As we raise Ivy and continue to build our family memories, I think about what traditions we can start, where we can inject more laughter in the chaos of the day to day and more time together as a family. When I consider high performing teams I've been a part of, these same principles remain true.

If you are looking for a way to build gratitude into your personal or professional life I highly recommend the gratitude jar.