Genuine Gems (GRATITUDE)

9) KEEPING A GRATITUDE JOURNAL

A gratitude journal is very similar to a diary. However, the difference is that you mainly have positive things to write in a gratitude journal. While you can rant and rave in your diary.

A gratitude journal is meant to uplift you. It connects you with good feelings thoughts. The aim of keeping a gratitude journal is to write down the things that make you happy and that for which you are grateful for.

Your entries in a gratitude journal
What if we woke up today with only the things we thanked Allah for yesterday?

Would we even be living? Do we thank Allah for the air we breathe, the ability to breathe, every organ in our body that functions perfectly, every limb we posses that has been fashioned in the most perfect manner, the food we eat, the water we drink, the roof over our heads, the clothes we wear, the warm blankets in winter, the fans or AC in summer, the cars we drive, the parents, siblings, spouses, children and family we have....and it is a never-ending list.

Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (radhiyallahu anhu) said, "Tee beauty of every bounty lies in the gratitude we show for it." The more grateful we are, the more beautiful and pleasing the bounty will be. And if we are not grateful, even the greatest bounty can become a problem.

Life itself is such a great bounty, but how often have we felt that it is a burden, simply because we were unable to appreciate it. While we hate life just because it may not be panning out as as we had wanted or planned, someone is praying to have a life like ours..

Even when you are feeling down, it is important that you write something positive. Doing so compels you to see the positive side of things. Writing from a more enlightened perspective helps you get out of your slump. It happens when you write about the lessons that you have managed to learn from your negative experiences. A later review allows you to know that you will be able to create a better response should a similar event arise in the future. Hence, maintaining a gratitude journal is having low-cost therapy which you can easily self administer.

Should you have habitual negative thinking, then consider the use of a gratitude journal. It can prove to be a lifesaver. Your gratitude journal is an affirmation on a daily basis that you can also have positive experiences. Your focus is now on the bright rather than the dim sparks. You would realize that not everything about your life sucks. Making your entries cause you to note what you can be grateful for and offer you hope for a new day.
While most people write gratitude journals at the end of a day, you can do so at any time of the day. A list of at least five items is ideal but really there is no restriction to the number of things you can write. These entries can be about anything positive that has happened during the day; such as, getting praise at work, your children telling you that they love you or receiving unsolicited assistance while you were carrying grocery to your car. It can also be about the joyful things that you did in the day as well. These include helping a handicapped person across the street, running an errand for your colleague, or baking a cake for your neighbor.

Ibne 'Ata-illah Iskandari (alahir-rahamah) said, "A person who is not grateful for a ni'mah (bounty) is asking for it to be taken away."As though he is telling Allah, "take it back. I don't need it." And he farther says, "And a person who is grateful for a ni'mah, captures it and secures it with a tight rope. " in fact, it will not only be secured but it will also increase! It is Allah's policy that he rewards gratitude with increase. Allah (SWT) says in the noble Qur'aan:

"Verily, if you are grateful, we will increase you (in bounties)." (Surah Ibrahim)

Writing a gratitude journal can be done in any way that you want to. You can write an essay, use bulleted list, do it in point form, or even write poetry.

Don't just think in words. Think pictures. Draw sketches or diagrams and charts.what might list as things that you are grateful for in the last 11 months?