In response to the feedback on my morning rituals post, I have decided to share some more of my rituals that extend from the Simple Abundance book.
Below is my gratitude journal. Daily I write at least five things I am grateful for during the course of a day. This is a page from last year and as you can see the 5 things I was grateful for that day weren't anything startling, but they make you appreciate the smallest things. Some days it is hard to think of 5 things, but just being grateful for family, friends, food, shelter, the sun on your face may help. This journal also serves as a lovely keepsake or mini diary of events in your life that you may not otherwise document elsewhere.
I used to document my things that I was grateful for on my blog when I first started blogging. You can try it this way and share your journal as snippets into your day in bullet point format. This is something you might like to share with your children (or grandchildren) and document the things you are grateful as a family. Or give each child their own special journal. This is something I have been meaning to do.
I also sketch, as I posted earlier, in a sketch book to keep the artist within me 'alive' and inspired.
Lastly something I haven't done for a while, as I haven't picked up any magazines for a bit (op shops are the best source) is an 'Illustrated Discovery Journal'. Doesn't that sound divine?
Here you place snippets and images of anything you 'LOVE' into a blank book. I have used an A3 sketch pad for mine. You could even collect images and collate them on your computer and try it that way, but I prefer a tangible book.
My pictures depict anything from a swatch of fabric to a corner of a room, a garden image, the colours in an image, the texture of something...anything. The pictures only make it to the book if I look at a picture and it evokes an emotional response or inspires me in some way.
These are Sarah's words to explain what this book does:
"The key to loving how you live is in knowing what you truly love"
We get so caught up in trends or follow what others like that we lose trust and awareness of what we really like ourselves. This book is very powerful and worth doing if you feel a little detached from who it is you really are. When I look through my book it makes me feel wonderful and I like the whole process of collecting the pictures, cutting them out, pasting them in (no special way) and then picking it up from time to time and going through it. This book isn't a wish list of 'things' you may want or need...you would need to create another book for that. This is you...this book is like a montage in some ways of your authentic self.
You only need 5 minutes every day to do a quick sketch or write a few things down that you are grateful for or browse a magazine/internet for a few images that 'move' you. If you do this, I am certain you will feel a little shift, a little bit more 'aware' and a little more grateful for the simpler things.
Please feel welcome to share what you may do each day or week that helps you to become more aware or grateful. I understand some days it is hard to be grateful and for some in the world there is very little at all to be grateful for. I am just sharing what I do and hope it inspires visitors to my blog in some small way.
Thanks for your support of Little Eco and a warm welcome to visitors from Rhonda's blog. I am overwhelmed by your kind words and I was thrilled to post out parcels yesterday, to my first visitors to the store.
Thanks for visiting,
Amanda x
