Another Five Years

Gratitude diaries seem to be a popular recommendation for positive mental health but it's not a new concept. Ignatius wrote a text of spiritual exercises in the 16th century which included the idea of pausing during the day, to, amongst other things, give thanks to God. This practice was not his own idea either, he was probably just the first monk to write it down.

During a secret santa Christmas get together in the new year of 2016, I was given a five year 'One Line a Day' diary. I started using it daily in June 2016 and therefore finished it a few weeks back. Before purchasing another one I took a break to see if I really needed to continue using one, or not. You see, since a spiritual discernment retreat in early 2017, I have been following a simple examen, an end of the day practice reflecting on what I am grateful for in the day that has past. While reviewing the day from when I rise to when I started the examen, the idea is to just notice thoughts, feelings and actions as I fast forward through the day, and note down the event that I am most grateful for and least grateful for. 

This practice, it turns out, although simple and relatively quick, has been an important part of my bedtime routine which ensures I go to bed in a more positive state of mind than when I perhaps started the examen. Sure, there are days when the most I can come up with is being grateful I am at the end of the day, but otherwise I jot down all sorts of things, from food I ate, to people I saw or connected with, or a particular event, it can be anything. I also like having to note what I am least grateful for: some days, the least grateful thing is still something I'm really grateful for, other days, not so.

Recording my examen in a five year diary meant that reading back on what I wrote in the years before was interesting and helped me see how life, although feeling like just another day at times, really does change a lot in a short space of time. Having had time to think about all of this, I decided to buy another one and started it just yesterday. After all, anything that can help me focus on today can only be a good thing.