This is Day 4 of the 14-Day Gratitude Challenge held in Aug 2013, where we practice gratitude for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hey everyone, welcome to Day 4 of our 14-day gratitude challenge! :D Let’s get started, shall we?
My Experience with Day 3’s Task: Write a Gratitude Note to Someone
So I did yesterday’s gratitude task on writing a gratitude note. The person I selected was my fiance, Ken. :) Below is the thank-you letter I sent him via email:
My thank-you letter to my fiance Ken
* Quick legend:
- 猫猫 is kitty cat (in Chinese), which is my nickname he refers to me by.
- 狗狗 is dog, my nickname for him.
- 手牵手 (in the last sentence), means “holding hands”, which is a central theme of our relationship. Ken holds my hands every day and tells me daily that he will always be there to hold my hands till the end of time.
- *ding* is a sound effect I make when I’m making a heart-shaped symbol to him using my fingers or my hands. It’s one of those recurring things in our relationship. :)
It was quite a challenge writing the note, not in terms of getting my message out into words, but because I wanted to surprise him with it. It was hard to do that with him by my side the whole time and having visibility of my laptop screen!
Nonetheless, I finally completed the note by the end of the day and emailed him. He saw the mail 10 minutes later and was really excited to read it, but then I became shy and did everything I could to prevent him from reading, including deleting the mail from his inbox (which he promptly undid), (trying to) close his browser and (trying to) shut down his computer. LOL!
He eventually got up early next morning to read it while I was still half-asleep and was very happy to read what I had written. :) All is good! I’m personally very happy to have written the note because as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we can always be saying “thank you’s” to our loved ones and we may think that they know how we feel about them, but it’s a whole new dimension when they physically receive a heartfelt letter which you personally wrote for them.
Here’s to more gratitude goodness in the 11 days ahead!! :)
Day 4: Gratitude
Thank you. Gracias (Spanish). 谢谢你 (Chinese; Xie Xie Ni)。 ありがとうございました (Japanese; Arigatou Gozaimashite)。 ขอขอบคุณคุณ (Thai: Kob Khun Ka). Danke (German). Terima Kasih (Malay). Merci (French). நன்றி (Tamil; naṉṟi). Dank u (Dutch). Dankie (Afrikaan). Salamat (Filipino). Cám ơn (Vietnamese; kárm ern). 多謝 (Cantonese; dòjeh
All these mean “thank you” in different languages. Each of these phrases, we use often in our daily lives (if you have some measure of personal etiquette).
Despite the fact that we often hang the phrase “thank you” at our lips, do we actually mean the “thank you’s” we say sometimes? Or has saying “thank you” become more of a way of life, a natural order of things, a convenient phrase we utter because “it is the right thing to say/do at that time”?
Really… what does “gratitude” mean to you?
In today’s task, I would like you to reflect what “gratitude” means to you and its place in your life.
Your Task: Reflect on “Gratitude” and its Place in Your Life
Think about the three gratitude tasks you have done in the past three days: Day 1: Write 10 Things You are Grateful For in Your Life, Day 2: Give Thanks for Your Food, and Day 3: Write a Gratitude Note to Someone.
You have already been actively practicing gratitude in the past few days, and probably for some periods before this challenge. Hence, you probably know the act of giving gratitude and how it feels like to receive gratitude. The notion of gratitude isn’t new to you.
For today, reflect on the following two questions:
- What does the word “gratitude” mean to you?
- Why is it important to practice gratitude in your life? (i.e. Why practice gratitude? Why not just go “lalala” and live life as it is, taking without giving, receiving without appreciating, and simply just work on your goals without regard for others, things, and the world?)
Think about both questions, then write down your answers for each in your gratitude journal. Your answers can be short or long; there is no guideline on what to do here. Let your inner voice sing.
Daily Journaling: Write 3 Things You Are Grateful for Today
On top of today’s task, identify 3 things you are grateful for today. These 3 things can be events that occurred today, mishaps which could have happened but didn’t happen, or simply things which have always been in your life but which you suddenly came to feel grateful for today.
3 things I’m grateful for today:
- The Edinburgh PE Meetup was a great success! Originally I thought it was just going to be a private meetup between me and another reader (Alice), but then we had a few RSVPs in the last few hours which led to a turnout of seven people in the end! It was great fun chatting and hanging out with everyone (as with all past PE reader meetups) and I was so happy to connect with everyone in person. :D Attached is a picture:
- Ken and I got to Edinburgh safely! There can always be all kinds of hiccups when it comes to traveling, but we arrived in Edinburgh fine and also found our accommodation with no problems. It’s a cosy apartment @ Montrose Terrace which will serve great for our four-day stay here.
- I’m grateful to be in Edinburgh, which is an absolutely stunning city. I can’t wait till our second (engagement) shoot tomorrow, where we will be doing three different scenes: city/urban, garden, and beach. It’s going to be fun! (I just need to remind myself to stop stressing out about the shoot, given that it’s just something you do once in a lifetime and all!)
Share Your Results!
What is the meaning of gratitude to you?
Why is it important to practice gratitude in your life?
(Share pictures / screenshots of what you have written in your journal if possible!)
What are 3 things you are grateful for today?
Sound off in the comments section! :)
Once you’re done, proceed to Gratitude Challenge Day 5: Identify 3 Things to Appreciate about Your Adversary.
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3 things I’m grateful for today(writing it on a Monday morning
for the Sunday that went by):
– The amazing movement class yesterday which
pushed me to my physical limits and made me realize where I’m right now with
physical fitness.
– The process of writing a gratitude note for a
dear friend. Thanks to Celes for having this challenge-series.
– To Julia Cameron and Robin Sharma who’s ways of
writing ‘morning pages’ and journals help me each day, and end up giving my
days their best kick-start.
– To the lovely time I’d with my friends where I
took them out for a treat.
– To the extremely well enacted play that I
watched yesterday: One-on-One. To their bravery that made them tell stories
that would’ve been otherwise censored in mainstream media.
It’s just Monday morning here in India. I’ll mull over the other two questions and reply back soon to this :).
Here are my thoughts on the other two questions:
Meaning of gratitude:
Gratitude is about appreciating the goodness in your life. And the more you appreciate, the more it appreciates. It makes you notice the good in all. It makes you notice that all is good. It’s when you are happy that you’ve your own vehicle when you’re stuck in a traffic-jam. It’s when you thank god that you have legs when they get fractured. It’s when you gift a ‘thank you’ to the person you’d taken for granted. Gratitude is gratefulness. It’s probably the only debt that brings you smile. It connects us to our community and to the universe. It makes us humble. It keeps us rooted. The more you feel it, the more others feel it for you.
Why is it important to practice gratitude:
Happiness and contentment seems to be the major goal for most of us. A shortcut to that should mostly be gratitude. What is contentment if not the recognition of the goodness in your life – gratitude. Practicing gratitude lifts us up no matter what our external circumstances are. It tells are we’re already blessed. There’s no reason we should be sad. One of our expectations may not have come true. But we would always have more than many others wildest expectations. Gratitude also gets the Law of Attraction working for you. Feeling gratitude for others and for the creation will attract more of what you’re grateful for. At first gratitude also kindles the desire to be of service to those who have been there for you. And eventually, I would think, it would lead you to the path of being of service to everyone you could. There’s absolutely nothing to lose from practicing it – albeit your worry. Then why not practice, and make life more joyful :)
1. What does the word “gratitude” mean to you?
Being happy for what you have, rather than focusing on what you don’t! If a person is involved, letting them know that they’ve made a difference ;)
2. Why is it important to practice gratitude in your life? (i.e. Why practice gratitude? Why not just go “lalala” and live life as it is, taking without giving, receiving without appreciating, and simply just work on your goals without regard for others, things, and the world?)
Cuz that sounds pretty sad – you’d never realise all the cool stuff you have in your life! Also, your loved ones would never know how much they mean to you and might give up on you, thinking that you don’t need them.
And that threesome of gratefulness:
1. Food Not Bombs for doing amazing work for people in need (it’s an organisation that gives out free food, often to homeless)
2. Mobile phones. You can call if you’re lost of forgot the house number. You can call to announce change of plans. Helpful!
3. That my vegan lasagna turned out alright :)
Here is my screenshot of Day 4’s post. Have a great week!
I’m so far behind, but I’m going to do this anyway.
Gratitude to me means a state of mind I want to try to stay in on a daily basis where I am aware of all I have to be thankful for.
I read a few years in Oprah’s magazine about keeping a thank you journal and writing down 3 things every night you are thankful for. I did that for quite a while and it really made a difference in how I experienced life. That’s why I wanted to do this gratitude challenge, to get me back on track again. I feel if we are more appreciative, we will be better people all around and enjoy life more.
Still behind and battling like mad to catch up posting these images. Here’s my Day 4 Challenge and Journaling, or you can check them out on my “Gratitude-ish Things” Pinterest board.
Hi everyone!
Here’s a much belated online version of what I wrote in my Gratitude notebook :
Gratitude to me means most of all : not taking anything or anyone for granted.
I can get really frustrated when people complain a lot about their lives, without thinking about all the beautiful people and things they have around them. And yes, I am one of them, but then I just get frustrated with myself ;)
Another very important thing for me, is to say “Thank you” and really (!!) mean it. Because I find myself saying thank you quite a lot every day : for people giving me information, someone holding a door open, a nice talk with friend. And I say “Thank you”, but sometimes I bust myself saying it out of politeness, without actually considering the gift that person just offered me.
WHY I think we should practice gratitude :
Because we use to go on and on in our lives, always striving for more and better, and forgetting to stand still – look at who and what we have around us – and simply to be grateful for that!
Thank you Celes for this thought challenging task!
Thanks Miss Ellen for being a part of this challenge!! :)
Day 4 done! http://sulthanabegum.tumblr.com/post/58828118394/reflect-on-gratitude
“Gratitude means being thankful for what I have been given and appreciating those blessings. But you can be grateful and still aspire and work hard for more, for a better life, for a better world.”
To me gratitude is showing gratefulness for the good things in your life. I believe to be truly happy, one must live in gratitude. To live in gratitude means having a daily practice of giving gratitude– acknowledging & accentuating the positive things going on in your
life. When you constantly remind yourself of all the wonderful things in your life, you are priming yourself to be in the best mood and energetically calling forth even more goodness in your life. Your life then becomes a series of gratitude cycles where you show your gratefulness and the universe rewards you with even more stuff to be grateful for.
3 things I am grateful for:
1. I am grateful for the Indian restaurant near my work who make a delicious chicken tikka masala bowl for $6.00.
2. I am grateful for my Sunday dinner with close friends filled with good food and enjoyable conversation.
3.I am grateful for the ladies & gentlemen of #instaomcrew (A crew of yogi’s I follow on Instagram) who chose me to be one of the winners of a yoga challenge!
http://donettas.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/day-4-gratitude-challenge-reflection/
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