August was a month full of gratitude for me, and for those of you who played along in the #iamgrateful gratitude photo a day project, I hope that you gained as much as I did from the process.

Forcing yourself to look around and take a picture of something you are grateful for each day (whether you follow a list or not) gives the same benefits as a gratitude list, allowing you to appreciate what you have and opening your mind to a positive way of thinking.

I love that I now have a collection of 30 photos of things I was grateful for during the last month, and although losing my phone half way through the month restricted me to taking photos at home, it was easy to find things to be grateful for without stepping outside my front door.

I am grateful for my mum

I am grateful that my lover is my best friend

I am grateful for winter comfort

I am grateful for mornings

I am grateful for warmth… but he makes it so hard to get up!

I am grateful for the excitement of a day trip to byron

I am grateful for technology

I am grateful for purchases

I am grateful for the opportunity to chill on the couch with my lover

I am grateful for fresh food from the farmers markets

I am grateful to gain clinical experience

I am grateful for sunsets… even in traffic

I am grateful for breakfast, and breakfast reading

I am grateful for the best birthday gift

I am grateful for alone time with my book

I am grateful for my morning coffee routine

I am grateful for the challenge of Med Revue

I am grateful for laughter with the girls

I am grateful for liquid – veggie juice!

I am grateful for health – salad picked fresh from the garden

I am grateful for nature – 5 min under a tree to rejuvenate

I am grateful for the simplicity of black flats

I am grateful for beauty – our private plunge pool in Kingscliff

I am grateful for words – committing the script to memory

I am grateful for sharing – a meal with wonderful people

I am grateful for sunshine

I am grateful for quiet time… walks on the beach

I am grateful for the kindness of this man every day (although this picture doesn’t show it)

I am grateful for my weakness – fresh squeezed apple juice

I am grateful for happiness… cuddling this little puppy when I wake up

A little more about gratitude: 

So often people express dissatisfaction in their lives or say things like ‘when I’m rich’ or ‘when I finish uni’ in discussions about what it would take to be happy and content with life.

I believe that this dissatisfaction can arise from the constant wanting and yearning for things (material or otherwise) that they feel like they ‘want’ or ‘need’ rather than focusing on and being thankful for the things that they already have and the success that they have already achieved.

Thankfully, this way of thinking is so easy to turn around, and for me (although there is no doubt that I still want things I don’t have) – rather than thinking ‘I will be happy when I finally finish exams/this year/my uni degree/have more money/have more time’ I am focussing on enjoying the journey and being content with where I am right now in the hope that I will never look back and think ‘geez I wish I had more fun in medical school’.

The process of gratitude and goals/dreams/manifestations of the future are not mutually exclusive, rather, they complement each other and allow you to acknowledge the goals that you have achieved, rather than racing ahead to the next one.

What is your favourite way to express gratitude?

 

Photos from my instagram: jazziefizzle