Gratitude and Letting Go

I posted articles here recently about journaling and the idea that really sparked those for me was a comment about a gratitude journal.

I started one, only mine had to be different, so it’s a gratitude and letting go journal, as some things come paired that way and some things bug me so much they get in the way of being grateful for the abundant blessings that I actually have received.

Here are a few highlights from the first few entries.

I’m letting go of my anger at the inconsiderate people who park in the striped area next to the handicapped spaces in front of Kroger.

(It does me no good to be angry at them and every strategy I or my friends have come up with for dealing with them carries costs that I don’t want to pay or dangers that could escalate to serious consequences. )

I’m grateful for the Kroger employee who took the time to help me look for the NoSalt (salt substitute) that we need now that my wife’s on a restricted-sodium diet and went the extra bit to get some of it from the stockroom when said employee found that the spot on the shelf for it was empty.

I’m grateful for the walker who was paying enough attention and was flexible enough to move out of my way so that I did not hit her when I backed out of the driveway and didn’t see her in the street.

I’m letting go of my annoyance at her for walking in the street when we have a paved and mostly-well-maintained sidewalk on our road so that people don’t have to walk in the street, as well as the adrenaline rush of fear when I realized how close I came to hitting her.

I’m grateful for the nurse and/or doctor who noticed that my wife had pneumonia and had her moved from the nursing home to the attached hospital, as well as the hospital itself for admitting her and taking care of her.

I’m letting go of my rage at the nursing home for their role in her developing pneumonia and for their lack of attention to details such as cleaning out the drawers of the nightstand from the dirty underwear and paper garbage left behind by a previous patient, even after it was pointed out to them.

I’m letting go of my frustration at how little I am able to do directly for my wife in her current situation.

I’m grateful that I’ve been able to help her in some ways that I would never have imagined back when I was single.

I’m grateful to Dr. Gary Murray, my wife’s cardiologist for explaining why the change in medicine he prescribed will let her congestive heart failure be treated, even though we both thought the CHF would be fixed by the heart surgery.

I’m deeply grateful for the help, support, love, prayers, and good thoughts sent our way by family and friends (and those whom I know only through Facebook or from blogging).

---

 

So far, the rest of my entries in this journal have been a list of people and things that I’m grateful for, each one of which could be the topic of several articles — and listing them has made me much more aware of how fortunate I am to have them in my life.

The gratitude journal definitely works on several levels as mentioned in my previous posts about journals. Try it! You may find it a wonderful tool, as well.