I’ve just finished my most recent Gratitude Journal and as I begin another I thought I would share the virtues of keeping one, particularly during these strange, sometimes frightening, times.

I started keeping one when the Eldest first became unwell. I was trying to keep home life ‘normal’, my head was so full of stuff – lists of all the different things I had to do, emotional turmoil ranging from outright terror at what was happening to utter grief at what may be lost, raging anger at the lack of control; you get the picture. I needed to find something to help me sort some of the jumble in my head. And this is when I discovered the concept of keeping a gratitude journal. I researched the ideas and science behind what appeared such a simple thing to do and discovered that, yes, it really does make a difference. In a 2005 research paper entitled, ‘Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Intervention’, the authors, Seligman, Steen, Park and Peterson, conclude that writing a gratitude journal results in improvement of sleep quality, an increase in emotional awareness and a lowering of stress levels. Given how ridiculously easy it would be to incorporate into my day, I gave it a go. It hasn’t solved everything by any stretch of the imagination – the Eldest remains unwell, I still get frustrated by stuff – but it has helped put things into perspective. We can sometimes get so overwhelmed with our own situation that we lose sight of the bigger picture. And given what’s going on in the world right now, I thought it could be a good time for others to take up their pens!

So, at the end of every day, I write down 5 things I’m grateful for. And trust me, even on the very bleakest of days, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for – we live in a democracy (ok, so we could have some interesting discussions around that statement…), I have a roof over my head, I have 4 amazing children, birdsong, the first shoots of spring, a rainbow after a sudden downpour, the kindness of a friend …. we are alive. You get the picture. It is incredibly grounding and I know how fortunate I am in so many ways.

The Littlest also writes a Gratitude Journal although she writes just two things. I hope that she will take this habit through her life – it’s also quite fun to look back on!

I have attempted to encourage the rest of the Tribe, the Eldest in particular, but to no avail. Maybe this shutdown will give them more space to think about it again….