Some thoughts on gratitude, on purpose and coping with life.
Some thoughts on gratitude, on purpose and coping with life.
Happy Halloween & I'm coming for you, Christmas
Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day and celebrate by putting up your Christmas Tree. 🎄
Here’s what you get in this September edition of the newsletter:
🤔 A thought I’m processing [on gratitude]
💕 A thought I’m loving [on “Ikigai”]
🗳️ A poll [on coping with the state of the world]
🔗 Some link love
📆 A full recap & links to this past month’s posts
🤔 A thought I’m processing [on gratitude]
A year or so I started looking into the evidence-based research around gratitude. I learned a few things:
(1) Our minds do better when we focus on one thing we’re thankful for and spend time meditating on the reasons we’re thankful - (so, thinking of a person and 5 reasons you’re thankful for them vs. thinking of 5 people you’re thankful for). As we reflect deeply on a person or part of our life, it cultivates a sense of joy, connection and thankfulness within us.
(2) And then - I learned that our gratitude increases if we imagine sharing with people why we are thankful for them - (so, journaling to them instead of just about them). Here’s the wild thing: research suggests writing a letter to someone about why you’re thankful for them is as impactful - regardless of whether you send it or not! You don’t even have to mail the letter to get the increased benefits to your brain! Something about the process of imagining and sharing it with them helps our brains form even MORE connection and gratitude.
So, I came up with a little thing for my fam as Christmas gifts: cards that would prompt you to pick a person, and focus on them, reflect on why you’re thankful, and then have the option to mail it to them!
And THEN, I got a little idea in my head - of sending people these cards monthly. So they could pick a person each week, complete the card, and mail it if they wanted to.
And THEN, I got a little idea in my head about using these as table cards for a dinner party.
And THEN - finally today I figured I would offer these things to you in case you’re interested too! You can check it out and order some for yourself here. (Just make sure you order anything you want in time for Thanksgiving ASAP!)
(and I’m no tech wizard so if you can’t figure it out online, just email me and we can do via venmo!)
💕 A thought I’m loving [on Ikigai]
This came across my feed a little while back and I just loved it. So, here you go. Created by Alf Lokkertsen // “thepresentpsychologist”
🗳️ A poll [on coping with the state of the world]
For one of my jobs, I’ve been facilitating a lot of discussions around coping with emotions in light of the state of the world. It’s gotten me curious about how we are all coping and what tools we are using (healthy or not).
Which one of these resonates most with you today? (Not what you think ‘should’ be the answer, but what you’re actually functionally doing - healthy or not).
🔗 Some link love
Something I want to make to eat
October’s top track - (this is a throwback)
A concept I sort of love
Some words for those who don’t know what to say when the world is burning
For a laugh or smile, (a relateable pup)
📆 What you missed in October
Below are some links to what I’ve shared this past month! (Please note that some of my messier thoughts and musings are behind a paywall. You can read more about why I do that here, and feel free to upgrade your subscription to access them.)
The internet is not always my favorite - some recent thoughts on social media issues
A change in seasons - and why it makes my spirit lift right now
Toxic Religion and finding your place at the table - some thoughts on words like toxic religion
It’s you. You are the Problem. It’s you - another little rant about double binds for singles in the church