Brighten Your Day With A Gratitude List

It’s not a new concept, a Gratitude List. But it’s something I usually compile around New Year when I’m working on my Goals List for the coming year. I don’t bother with a New Years Resolution, I prefer to state what I want to achieve as opposed to losing something I may or may not need to give up.

If you’ve never heard of a Gratitude List or indeed completed one, then now’s a good time to get into the swing of it. You simply make a list of 10 things in you’re life that you’re really grateful for – simple! Only sometimes it’s not – once you begin naming all the things that are important to you that you simply take for granted, you realise completing a Gratitude List containing 10 items can be a difficult task for sure.

So, mid way through the year you may be asking why I’m compiling another one. The answer is quite simply that I’m taking stock, mid way through this year, and looking over my New Years Goals List and wondering what happened to it!

Taking Stock

“Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a secret” ~ Mary Kay Ash

2009 has so far been unpredictable, changeable, rich, demanding, pressured and personally enlightening to name but a few. This year saw the birth of my Tarot blog, Tarot Elements, and a new found interest in web and blog design; my eldest son moved on to begin his military career and I gained a teenage stowaway in his place. My youngest child became a teenager (ouch!) and my middle child, in the tradition of ‘invisible’ middle child syndrome, and who wishes to remain anonymous even now – completed his high school education this year (another ouch for my ever increasing age); my cat nearly died and my personal finances look like the negative bank balance of a third world country. Time to take stock for sure.

So in the interests of sharing, and this is a wonderful, spiritually liberating exercise, here is my repeatedly revised Gratitude List for July, 2009.

In my life, I’m grateful for:

1. My wonderful children who drive me insane and yet keep me sane; their petty arguments and their crazy comments; their stubbornness and their energy; when they’re being more mature than me and give me that look. I’m grateful for each and everyone one of them.
2. My lover who nourishes me and helps me grow; who feeds me and gives me strength; who expands my mind and shines the light in my moments of darkness, and doesn’t judge me for my occasional mentalness.
3. My family, crazy bunch they are. They’re an eclectic support group that never fail to show when the chips are down, or even when they’re up – the parties are legendary
4. My friends, for there are no dark corners in me, or in them; there’s nowhere left unseen or unknown. We don’t always have to phone, but the line is always there; as are the Kleenex and the wine when we need it, and even if we don’t.
5. My Tarot cards because they know me too – and never let me down. They’re a source of knowledge with never-ending lessons that are always different, no two occasions are the same. A cool teacher.
6. My Tarot blog as it’s allowing me to express my ideas and share the knowledge I have gained from others, a kind of Pay It Forward. I have found new friends, new teachers and new students. We are one and the same but I wouldn’t have known any of them without Tarot Elements.
7. Led Zepplin ‘cos quite frankly nothing lifts me quite like they do when the chips are down – the volume goes up and the kids vacate the room! I think I’m pretty good at air guitar, I don’t know why they disagree…
8. Chocolate chip cookies. Or double chocolate chip muffins. Or chocolate ice cream. Or maybe just chocolate generally? Full fat, full cream, milk or dark – I’m eternally grateful for chocolate
9. A hot bath with oil and rose petals and candles lining the room…
10. My sunglasses as they save me from squinting in the sun, and let’s face it, you get to a certain age, you have to take care of the skin around your eyes

So there’s my list. Revised a few times and not a New Year’s Goal List in sight. I sat there thinking about the things I’m really grateful for, in this moment, right now. Some may seem flippant, but the small things matter almost as much as the big. Think of the small things as the Minor Arcana and the big things as the Major Arcana – we wouldn’t have one without the other, they’re both equally important.

So get your pen and paper out (it’s always nicer by hand) and write your own Gratitude List. I promise it will raise a smile and make your day, and your life will feel a whole lot better.

Chalkboard image courtesy of How to Succeed With Goal Setting by Andrew Carter

Have you ever written a Gratitude List before? Do you write one in conjunction with with a Goals List? Is there any part of writing a Gratitude List that you would do differently? If so, I’d love to hear about it – please feel free to share you ideas and experiences.

Catherine – has written 165 posts on Tarot Elements.

I'm the author and creator of Tarot Elements!