There are two personal projects that I have always wanted to try and accomplish myself. First was a 30-Day Photo Challenge and the other is this thing called Gratitude Jar. I was able to hurdle the first task sometime last year (which I will write about in this blog next). The Gratitude Jar project sounded interesting but the plan was pushed aside for a while.
Reviving the said project almost did not happen. At least not until two things happened: First was coming across this note that I found outside the parish one morning during my daily visits on the way to the office.
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| Grateful people are joyful people. |
When I thought that reason was not enough, the second one came during the early part of this year. When we have to go through and face an ordeal which I would describe to be something I never expected we would ever experience as a family.
I decided to give the project a go not really thinking much about it. In my mind, I was asking one thing: How and where can you find something good when a day and situation turn out to be something bad. Yes, I know it sounds pessimistic so I thought I'll go through this project one day at a time.
I know for some people, they would think of a Gratitude Jar as just a basic fragile container filled with sappy notes. Admittedly, I used to think of the same before; which was a reason why I shelved the idea for quite some time. But as days passed, I just realized it helped me with something -- to form a habit of finding something good and beautiful out of a day -- no matter how simple, complicated, tiring and toxic it might be. This activity also allows me to recall a number of random acts of kindness that were done to me by strangers that I meet. And just thinking about those is enough not just to leave me with a pleasant memory but with a different kind of happiness as well.
The other thing I learned while doing this personal project is the importance of celebrating each success no matter how big or small it is. My gratitude jar has also become a vessel of appreciation because I realized I wrote not just memories but milestones as well.
The Gratitude Jar Project will entail daily effort. It's a 365-day activity. I've yet to count the contents of my jar but just seeing it filled with happy, positive memories that I can read through by the end of the year is enough for me to pursue and continue to get going. It might just be a little personal project but somehow, it gives meaning to the 24 hours each day that I'm blessed to have.
The other thing I learned while doing this personal project is the importance of celebrating each success no matter how big or small it is. My gratitude jar has also become a vessel of appreciation because I realized I wrote not just memories but milestones as well.
The Gratitude Jar Project will entail daily effort. It's a 365-day activity. I've yet to count the contents of my jar but just seeing it filled with happy, positive memories that I can read through by the end of the year is enough for me to pursue and continue to get going. It might just be a little personal project but somehow, it gives meaning to the 24 hours each day that I'm blessed to have.
