The Year of Gratitude.

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thank·ful

adj.
1: conscious of benefit received
2: expressive of thanks
3: well pleased : glad

One of my favorite Christmas songs is from my childhood.  Every winter without fail, Mom and Dad would put on their Ray Conniff Singers LP and my sisters and I would hear this gentle melody: “And when we’re worried and cannot sleep, we’ll count our blessings instead of sheep, and we’ll fall asleep counting our blessings.” Those words have stayed with me for more than twenty years.

So blessed to have fresh berries and my mom’s yummy cobbler recipe on hand

Australian photographer Hailey Bartholomew began a personal project in 2008, to help her to be “grateful, daily” for her blessings.  During a tough period in her life, she was advised to simply stop for one moment every day and write down something she was grateful for.  Being a photographer, she naturally recorded those moments with a Polaroid camera and thus began her journey.

I first heard about her 365/Grateful project on Flickr a couple of years ago.  Some folks participate in a “self-portrait 365″ project or something similar.  But Hailey was inviting us to share not photos of ourselves, but something we’re thankful for.  Every single day.  What a heartwarming concept!  Currently, several amazing photographer friends are still sharing their 365 grateful projects on their Facebook accounts, and I have begun mine there as well.  I’m just using my iPhone, as you can see here, and a few of my favorite photo apps to document my journey.  I’m on day 6 now, and at the end of each month, I’m going to organize my month of blessings into a small collage and feature it on the blog.  Already the feedback has been wonderful, and I’m happy to see so many more people stopping to be thankful and wanting to be a part of this project as well.

Grateful for an afternoon of fishing on the lake with his Popaw

Would you join us?

My challenge to you today is to simply look around you.  Find one thing today to be grateful for.  Jot it down.  You can journal it, you can blog about it, photograph it, or shoot a video of it.  Just document it in some tangible way.  And do it again tomorrow… and the day after that.  If daily documentation seems a bit much for you, then try weekly.  Try monthly.  Have fun with it, and if you feel the urge, do share your journey on your blog, flickr, facebook or twitter and the like.  It seems gratitude is contagious.

I’m grateful for long driveways and country roads

If you’re having trouble getting started, you can begin by just sitting where you are right now, and looking around you.  It doesn’t have to be something big, you can be grateful for the tiniest things!

• On your commute to work, look out the windows and see if you notice something you haven’t bothered to pay attention to recently.  Are the leaves beginning to change color?  Be thankful for autumn and for the coolness in the air.  Be grateful for carpool, for your children’s teachers, for the healthy lunch you were able to pack for them this morning.
• At work, be thankful for your coworkers.  For employment.  Maybe you’re able to do what you love for a living, oh my word, stop and be grateful for that.
• If you’re at home, go into your kitchen.  Be grateful for the abundance in your pantry, or for the memories surrounding your grandmother’s china.  For the fingerprints on the fridge and the fragrant herbs in the window.  For your vintage linens, for that heirloom sideboard you inherited from your mother.  And really, it’s totally okay to be grateful for that splendid coffeepot that gets you going each morning!  ;)
• In your living room, be thankful for the light streaming in your windows or for the much-needed rain pouring down outside.  Be grateful for the signs of autumn outside your front door.  For a soft comfy sofa or the photographs of your family gracing the walls.
• Stopping in the bedroom, be grateful for a warm, safe place to sleep or for the calming candle on your bedside table.  Be thankful for rest.  For the clothing in your closet, for the rainboots to keep your feet dry, for that uplifting book on your nightstand and the company of your kids each morning when they run in to wake you.

Thankful for imagination and for giggly games of hide and seek

It’s really so simple once you get started.  If you consciously look for your blessings, then you will surely find many.  And once you get into a habit of being grateful each day, you’ll be amazed at how your perspective will change ~ you will be seeking out silver linings in storm clouds, discovering new ways of looking at problems.  Perhaps that tall pile of books will prompt you to be grateful for education, wisdom, knowledge.  You’ll begin to appreciate (if only for a moment!) the toys that are scattered across the rug, because you’re lucky enough to have an imaginative young child in your home.  You’ll begin to smile when you feel the sand sprinkled all over your hardwood floors, because you see, it means you’ve enjoyed a day at the beach.

To find out more about the 365/Grateful Project, and how you can be a part of it, then have a click around.  Be inspired!  Be grateful.

The 365/Grateful Project

Hailey’s Blog |  Website |  Grateful Daily Flickr Group

Hailey’s Original Grateful Daily Flickr Set

The NOTEBOOK Magazine Article (below, featuring beautiful spreads of her 365/Grateful Project!)

Stacey Woods

Co-editor, Stacey Woods is an on-location, natural light lifestyle photographer for the Tampa Bay, FL area. Her favorite subjects are expecting mamas, the tiniest of babies, and children of all ages. Her online photo journal can be found at Stacey Woods Photography. Stacey’s own husband and children (a 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter) are her greatest source of inspiration… and laughter!

About Stacey Woods

Stacey Woods is an on-location, natural light lifestyle photographer for the Tampa Bay, FL area. Her favorite subjects are expecting mamas, the tiniest of babies, and children of all ages. Her online photo journal can be found here. Stacey's own husband and children (a 7-year-old son, a 3-year-old daughter and a 5-month old baby girl) are her greatest sources of inspiration... and laughter!

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