Oh how saying 2020 speaks with a sharpness of the heart. The unexpected turns of this year seem to keep on coming and it is in these places that strength finds a way.
Throughout the grief and the losses of this pandemic year, there are still things to be thankful for.
Being a photographer in the middle of a busy fall and approaching holiday season, my eyes are opened to the places where connections are an invitation for gratitude.
For my own spirit to wage the war of fear and discouragement creeping its way into thought life, I compiled a gratitude photo checklist. This can be done with your iPhone, disposable camera, etc, or if you are artistic, then you can draw it!
I know that when we think of gratitude it is typically wrapped around November and Thanksgiving. Yet, I sense the need to show up to this October with intentional pursuit that gratitude trumps pain and that peace can be found in chaos. Let us not wait to step into strength that comes from acknowledging beauty and moments around us.
Get yourself a notebook/paper/journal that you can take images and print to tape in that space or make a folder in your phone/computer to store the images. This is a place you can revisit time and again when the stressors of this season attempt to siege your mind.
As you face whatever is being written in your story, may this focus on gratitude prepare your heart to continue seeking the goodness in your story amidst the “good hard” of this chapter.
You can go through the photo checklist at any order you wish and just cross them off as you go. Be creative with it and give your heart the space for heightened awareness to focus on places of gratitude.
Reminder of the Steps:
- Establish a place to write (either your journal/computer/phone).
- Print this list below of moments to capture as a reminder so they’re easy to check off.
- Take a picture
- With the picture, write something that makes you grateful when you think of it.
Gratitude Photo Checklist:
- Your favorite mug, full of coffee/tea/hot chocolate/your drink of choice
- Sunlight shining through trees in the morning
- Weekend drive with windows down
- Favorite fall movie
- Pumpkin pie
- Fall bouquet
- Roasted marshmallow
- Hug shared with a loved one
- Your best friend
- Favorite sweater
- Bonfire with friends
- Collection of fall leaves
- Using the grill
- Favorite scarf
- Candle
- A good book
- Cozy socks
- Selfie in a beanie
- Grass kissed with dewdrops in the morning
- Cheering on your favorite football team
- Fall walk
- Setting the table for dinner
- Watching the sunset
- Cozying up under a blanket
- A warm fire
- Baking a fall dessert
- Halloween costume
- Handwritten letter to a friend
- Decorating a pumpkin/carving/or picking one out
- Sharing homemade soup/meal with a friend
- Trees blowing in the wind
May this time be an intentional investment in your spirit and your heart to receive the abundance that is still within your story, even through all that is changing and feeling at a loss.
