5 Minutes of Gratitude

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States and I’m sure many people started their day working on today’s big meal.

I’m fortunate enough to have a father who loves to cook — he even worked in a restaurant back in the day — and handles our holiday meals. My job is just to be the hostess with the mostest.

Since I cleaned my house yesterday and will set the table while Daddy’s dressing is in the oven, I was able to spend Thanksgiving morning actually giving thanks. My Start Today journal prompts me to list five things I’m grateful for each day, but today I wanted to do more. Today I wanted to try five minutes of gratitude instead.

So, I set the timer on my phone for five minutes and did a freewriting exercise, exploring all the things I’m grateful today.

I think this is a great exercise for writers, perhaps one we should do every day and not just one this special day in November.

Here’s a peek into my journal in case you’re interested in what I wrote:

I am so grateful for another day, a day I get to spend with my family, a day I get to spend in a house I call my own.

I am so grateful for this body, even when I’m in pain. My body is not perfect but she carries me through this world and I will love her for that.

I am grateful for God’s unconditional love that tells me I don’t have to be perfect to be precious, that reminds me there’s always a message in the mess.

I am grateful for my husband. He loves me even when I don’t love myself.

I am grateful for my family, especially family who are also friends. I am grateful for my friends, especially friends who feel like family.

I am grateful for this life I live and thankful that I live in a place and time where I have the freedom to write my own story.

What are you grateful for today?