Counting My Blessings — 30 Days of Gratitude

I love fall … crisp & cool air … warm fires … sweaters & jackets … crunching leaves … pumpkin pie & baking cookies … sigh. Autumn is a great time of happiness for me, and always a time of reflection. I don’t know if it’s realizing the end of the year is just around the corner, or the thought of the coming holidays, but I find myself thinking … a lot … about the changes I’ve made (and haven’t made) … about family … about dreams & hopes. Missed moments seem more poignant at this time of the year. I take so much for granted in my life. I miss so many of the small moments. I am so caught up in the whirl of … well, of everything … that I lose perspective and forget to be grateful.

So this year, I want to bring my focus back to the here & now … and what is most important to me. Thanksgiving is 30 days away. And I am creating a 30 Days of Gratitude project. Will you join me?

30 Days of Gratitude

The goal:
Record one blessing every day from today through Thanksgiving (11/25).

The steps:
Decide your medium — the written word or photography (or both!)
Create a container or journal or other method for keeping track of your blessings. (Ideas coming on Thursday!)
Write down or photograph a blessing every day .
Between 11/25 and 12/1, share your project on your blog, on Facebook, or in Scrap Orchard’s forum.
Optional: Share your 30 Days of Gratitude project with your family on Thanksgiving Day.
Before 12/1, create a layout about one of your blessings OR about the experience and post it in Scrap Orchard’s gallery (so you’ll have to use Scrap Orchard’s projects).

The reward:
Well, obviously, counting all those blessings will be a reward in and of itself.

BUT, it’s always easier to complete a goal if you reward yourself at the end. So, everyone who participates (well, and emails me at the end to show me they did) will receive a 30% discount coupon to my store at the end of the project.

How about I give away a $25 coupon to my store too? Everyone who posts the final project on their blog, on Facebook, or in Scrap Orchard’s forum AND completes the layout will be entered into a drawing to win the coupon.

Don’t stress if you miss a day here or there. Just record an extra blessing (or more!) to help “make up” for the days you missed. The idea is to spend the whole month thinking more about your blessings and cultivating an attitude of gratitude. So even if you forget or don’t discover this project until it’s almost over, never fear — I’ll qualify you for the 30% discount coupon if you show me your project, and you’ll qualify for the $25 coupon if you post your project in digi land and complete the layout.

Will you join me in this daily project of counting our blessings? Follow me on Twitter for daily prompts and suggestions to help you complete your project. I’ll be back Thursday with some ideas for containers, journals, etc. for keeping track of those blessings. I’ll post more info later in the month about the final project and layout, and how to make sure you get entered into the drawing.

For now, start counting those blessings and go write down one for today!