"Journaling is a self-coaching process … and (in my opinion) is the number one thing you can do to shift into the higher version of yourself." – Clark Kegley
Excerpt from gratitude mojo … your transformation journey for a better life. (Free pdf for paid subscribers.)
It is said that Buckminster Fuller was still in his teens when he decided to document the life of an ordinary man. Of course, he went on to be a far-from-ordinary architect, author, designer, inventor, and futurist.
At 25, Fuller began documenting every aspect of his life in a huge scrapbook he called the Dymaxion Chronofile which contained copies of all correspondence, bills, notes, sketches, and clippings from newspapers; over 140,000 pieces of paper, as well as 64,000 feet of film, 1,500 hours of audio tape, and 300 hours of video recordings. (Wikipedia)
His decision to document his life is an example of taking life seriously, treating it as a precious gift. Journaling in any form is a positive act of respecting our lives.
Journaling connects us to ourselves as well as the world around us
Practicing gratitude through journaling connects us to our lives in a way that releases positive hormones, focuses on the good things in and around us, and prepares us to learn from the more challenging events which come our way.
Brené Brown, one of the wisdom gurus of our age, states:
“I believe that you have to walk through vulnerability to get to courage, therefore…embrace the suck. I try to be grateful every day, and my motto right now is ‘Courage over comfort.’
It takes courage to be vulnerable enough to speak our minds and our hearts whether on the page or in person.
Staying silent is safe.
However, is the purpose of life to stay safe? Yes, ideally, we should try to stay alive, however, watching the Ukrainians fight for their country reminds me of how safe I have played my own life. I have never served in the military, never fought in a war, nor rushed into danger to save a loved one, never even experienced the pain of giving birth to new life.
Now, I am at an age when none of the above is likely to happen. Where else do I have the opportunity to display courage other than on the page with my own voice?
Several years ago, on something of a whim (because I wanted a serious gratitude practice in my life) I decided to create my own gratitude journal … ignoring the fact that there were already countless ones sitting on book store shelves … and that I had zero credibility in that field. Regardless, I researched, wrote and self-published Gratitude Miracles (still on amazon shelves) and began to practice gratitude, filling two and a half 52-week journals before getting distracted by life in Mexico.
Fast forward three years and I wanted to return to what I then recognized as an important practice I had been missing. Fortunately, a dear friend decided she, too, wanted to return to the practice and we started once again with Gratitude Miracles. However, she decided she wanted a full-sized workbook and I decided I wanted to expand what had been already written. So … again ignoring the ever-growing number of gratitude journals … we set off to incorporate the new science available and all of the life lessons we had gathered.
A year-and-a-half later, gratitude mojo was born … with a birth defect. Finding a publisher willing to publish a large, workbook-style journal was somewhat like climbing over the Great Wall of China (which, by the way, is only 23-feet tall). The challenge daunted us, especially in today’s publishing world.
Enter Substack
Without a publisher and carrying the guilt of possibly killing too many trees, the project appeared to be circling the drain until we discovered Substack, which I only knew about because of the incredible, sanity-saving writings of Heather Cox Richardson. So, in we jumped and I promptly fell in love with this generous and blossoming community of writers.
So, what’s courageous about writing about gratitude?
Vulnerability. I have no doctorate, no decades of working in psychology, no long-term studies. I feel completely vulnerable writing simply from my own research and experiences. It seems like sheer chutzpah to be recommending the practice of gratitude to people who have serious life traumas and problems I haven’t experienced or even understand. And, yet, here I am. Standing up to speak out about the transformative practice of gratitude. The practice definitely changed my life, made me willing and brave enoough to do this work and be vulnerable. I feel honored to have this flag to carry.
Gratitude supports generosity and peace
I know many of you are already deeply aware of and practicing gratitude, and I hope, as we share our beliefs and experiences, we will become a stronger force for good in the world. Gratitude is the first mover of generosity and the foundation of peace. I know that my country and our world needs more gratitude; therefore, I will keep writing … with courage … and look forward to hearing your stories, as the more people witness gratitude, the more they receive the benefits of its power.
Please join us.
Dear Joyce,
Your post really resonated with my soul today! The way you say things makes me smile like 'circling the drain'. I love reading everything your write. Keep writing!! But it's the Renee Brown quote "Courage over comfort" that was my 'thank you'. It described my adventurous 'leadership role' as elected chair of a Board that truly needed a model of leadership with love, gratitude, courage and right action. And now I can say, we are ending my year, with harmony, respect restored, problem solving committees exploring what needed to be fixed and fixing it. This is just the first step and now we can move forward to begin the true work of a board in a world that needs us. Thank you!
Joyce, I am so happy to have found you, a kindred soul... I feel. I ponder these thoughts of life, gratitude, purpose, etc. Regarding vulnerability in CREATING our lives (I do think of each choice I make is a decision to cultivate what I want or don't want to be in my universe), I recently shared this video:
https://substack.com/@michelemilesgardinerwriter/note/c-17224828?r=stax4