[on thank-you journals]

When my brother was 13 years old, he was deemed “too negative” by my parents. Evidently, pre-teen Ben already had too much cynicism in him for his own good. They decided that the best remedy for this was to force a habit of thankfulness upon him. Thus the “thank-you journal” was born. Along with a reminder to pray before bed for friends and family came the reminder to write in his thank-you journal.

            The rule was three. Ben was to write down at least three things he was thankful for that day – simple, mundane, thrilling, poignant, or new, it didn’t matter. At the outset, most of his written gratitude followed a similar format: “Dear God. Thank you for ____ , _____ , and _____ .” End of entry. Usually, one of the topics included “not having too much homework today” (though who has homework in seventh grade?). After some time though, his writing expanded. I loved the things he chose to be grateful for. At first, he shared the journal with the family (or more accurately, he allowed my parents to check up on it). But as they gradually stopped both requiring it and reading it regularly, I still snuck looks at the journal, curious about the good that he found on an average day.

            My little brother’s lists of three are some of the most beautiful writings I’ve read. What is interesting about making a habit of appreciation is that it eliminates the possibility of average days. You can’t claim that your day was nothing unusual if you have cultivated the habit of intentional thanksgiving for any and all blessings. More than once, I found my name and other’s listed among the three items of the day. Ben’s thankfulness was becoming secondary; it was now also appreciation for the good that someone else had experienced. And he kept it up, on his own. Stranger and more lovely still was the fact his demeanor was changing, shifting subtly to a more contented version of himself.

            Someone wise I know once said that God knows we need to say “thank-you” in order to be thankful. The emotion of gratitude follows the rote action of opening one’s mouth (or putting down a pen) and acknowledging good. Since the advent of the thank-you journal, I have taken a hint from Ben and begun exercising gratitude by choosing to recognize blessing as well. My thank-you journal is usually more in the form of sporadic lists scribbled down, often filled with frivolous or silly things that nonetheless added color to a day. But regardless, it allows me to live with more gratitude, simply by saying thanks.

give thanks {list of the day}

- degrees in the seventies

- bike-riding

- comprehending Spanish class

- laughter in our suite

[partially inspired by, or at least encouraged to post this by, Rebs.]