Reflecting on Gratitude
This week the Team are focussing on Gratitude over at Traci Reed Designs. This is a really important value for me so I jumped at the chance to create a project for the Team blog.
I have found that an intentional gratitude practice is a great way to promote presence and encourage a healthy mindset.
In my experience it is often easier to find things to be grateful for when life is going according to plan - when we are well, when family and friends are happy, when the sun shines. In the past I used to find it harder to practice gratitude when things were not going as well as they might. Making the decision to practice gratitude INTENTIONALLY was a big shift for me. Rather than feeling low after a difficult day, or a period of ill health, I now reflect on my day and search those reflections for the moments of joy, the little things that can mean so much.
I have been feeling unwell lately with lingering discomfort following covid. Difficulty breathing made me feel particularly down but being intentionally grateful for the simple things in life truly helped me to stay positive and keep things in perspective.
I wanted to remember this time in my life, the need for very intentional breathing and celebrate the fact I am here, healing, breathing and with so much to be grateful for.
I spotted the simple sentiment card "Just Remember to Breathe" in Traci's "Time to Thrive" collection and that was the spark for telling this story. The "Time to Thrive" collection is PERFECT for telling stories of gratitude for our wellbeing, self-care and positive mindset. It has beautiful bright colours for cheerful projects but also some gorgeous, dainty and simple patterns if that is more your style.
I opted to go for a more minimal look for my Gratitude project and chose the delicate floral, dot, and black and white patterns to compliment the black and white photo.
This older collection is well worth a revisit for those who may already own it, or if not, I would definitely recommend adding it to your stash!
