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Many people believe that today’s practice is perhaps the most powerful gratitude exercise there is. It is in two parts (we will talk about part two tomorrow inshallah).

The exercise involves writing a letter to someone who has exerted a positive influence in your life but whom you have not properly thanked. This can be a teacher or a mentor from your past, a grandparent, or anyone else who helped you in some way.

Here is how to write the letter:

· Address the person directly.
· Describe what this person has done that makes you grateful, and how they have impacted your life. Be as concrete and detailed as possible.
· Describe what you are doing in life now, and how frequently you remember their act of kindness or generosity.
· The letter does not have to be long as long as it contains some detail of what you appreciate about their actions.
· Here is an example:
To my grade 8 teacher

Dear Ms Shah

I realized that you may not realize how...

41. What is your favorite season and what do you like about it?

42. Describe your oldest friend. What do you like most about this person?

43. What is your favorite charity and why do you support it?

44. Write about a challenging person in your life (i.e. someone you frequently disagree with) and the qualities you like about this person.

45. What book are you most grateful for having read? How has it impacted your life?

46. What is something that comes easily to you, but is challenging for others?

47. What freedoms are you most grateful for?

48. What are 3 things that you are grateful for having learnt? Who taught them to you?

49. Who is the people you are most grateful to have in your life right now, apart from family?

50. Who are three historical figures that you are grateful you know about?

[Some of these prompts have been curated and adapted from 120 Gratitude Journal Prompts https://www.developgoodhabits.com/gratitude-journal-prompts/]

31. Who can you count on whenever you need someone to talk to and why?

32. What was a task that wasn’t as difficult as you thought it would be when you got around to it?

33. Describe a funny YouTube video that you recently watched.

34. What is what one lesson you learn from rude people?

35. Who has forgiven you for a mistake you’ve made in the past?

36. What is your favorite quote or bit of wisdom that you like to frequently share with others?

37. Are you a morning person or a night owl? What do you love most about this part of the day?

38. What is the last thank you note you’ve received and why?

39. Who do you see regularly that makes you happy? What is it about them?

40. Which memory can always bring a smile on your face?

[Some of these prompts have been curated and adapted from 120 Gratitude Journal Prompts https://www.developgoodhabits.com/gratitude-journal-prompts/]

21. What is your favorite T.V. show and why do you love it?

22. What is your favorite way to enjoy nature? (i.e. walking in the woods, sitting on the beach, or hiking in the mountains, etc.) What do you notice, see, hear and smell that makes it special?

23. What do you love most about your country?

24. What is your favorite food you love to indulge in?

25. Write about someone who makes your life better. How do they do that?

26. What is today’s weather and what is one positive thing you can say about it?

27. What body part or organ are you most grateful for today? (e.g., your eyes because you got to see something beautiful)

28. What are 10 items that you take for granted, which might not be available to people in other parts of the world (i.e. Clean water, electricity, etc.)

29. Write about a recent time when a stranger did something nice for you.

30. What is one aspect about your health that you are grateful for? What is one area of your health that is going well? How does...

11. What is one something you’ve learned this week that you're thankful for?

12. Who made you smile in the past 24 hours and why?

13. What is biggest lesson you learned in childhood?

14. What is your favorite smell? Describe it.

15. What is your favorite sound? When did you last hear it?

16. Describe your favorite sight? How often do you get to see this?

17. What is your favorite taste? When did you last taste it? Who made it?

18. Name and write about someone you’ve never met, but who has helped your life in some way.

19. How is your life more positive today than it was a year ago?

20. What is the favourite part of the day? Why?

[Some of these prompts have been curated and adapted from 120 Gratitude Journal Prompts https://www.developgoodhabits.com/gratitude-journal-prompts/]

Once we start a regular journal practice, it can sometimes be challenging to find things to write about regularly, especially if we want to keep it fresh and be engaged in the process.

So over the next few days, we will list several prompts to get the process going.

Here are the first 10 prompts to choose from. Pick one or more to get going:

1. Describe your happiest childhood memory.

2. Who is the one friend you can always rely on?

5. What is the biggest accomplishment in your personal life?

6. What is the biggest accomplishment in your professional life?

7. What are the hobbies and activities that bring you joy. What do you like about them?

8. Describe a family tradition that you are most grateful for.

9. Who is a teacher or mentor that has made an impact on your life and how did they help you?

10. What do you like the most about the city or town where you live?

[Some of these prompts have been curated and adapted from 120 Gratitude Journal Prompts ...

One of the most basic and popular gratitude practices is to keep a regular gratitude journal. Keeping a gratitude journal allows you to have a specific place where you remind yourself of the gifts, grace, benefits, the good things and the people you enjoy.

The experts sometimes disagree on whether a daily or a weekly journal practice is more effective. Some studies have found that journaling weekly (rather than daily) may be more effective as daily journaling may lead to boredom and writing without feeling.

My suggestion is that you start daily to establish the habit and then see what works best for you long term and continue that.

In any case, the most effective journaling practice is

Regular: either daily or weekly. Keep a regular time.

Specific: You will experience more gratitude when you consciously and deliberately bring to mind the exact and specific details of the situation that calls for gratitude.

For example, recalling and being grateful for the thousands of hours of...

I really hope that by now you are convinced that a regular practice of gratitude is a powerful way to improve your mental and emotional wellbeing.

So how can you make it a part of your life?

1. Make an intention and commit.
Like creating any habit, we start with an intention. In this case, an intention to become more grateful and an intention to commit to a regular practice of gratitude.

Once we make the intention though, we may begin to notice that gratitude doesn’t seem to come as easily as grumbling does. Some days we will find it much more challenging than others. If we can just acknowledge the resistance and do it anyway, we will find that we will reap the greatest benefits.

2. Begin.
So let’s do it. There is nothing more to know or to research. We already have all the information we need about the benefits. The benefits, however, do not come from knowledge. They come from practice.

The easiest way to begin is to sit down with pen and paper or at your computer and...

Let us recap what we have been talking about over the last few days: while gratitude is one of keys to mental and emotional wellbeing, it is important to recognize what it is not.

Let us reiterate what gratitude does not mean:
It does not mean you hide your true feelings or pretend to be grateful when you do not feel it
It is not about telling others to be grateful, especially when they are experiencing depression
It is not about telling others to be grateful, especially when they are experiencing abuse
It is not about telling others to be grateful, especially when they are experiencing unfair treatment
It is not about accepting poor behaviour in relationships, especially when that behaviour is abusive
It is not about not speaking up for your needs and desires in a relationship
It is not about not working to build a relationship that works for both
It is not about accepting the status quo when that status quo includes injustice towards vulnerable populations

Now that we have a balanced view...

Continuing with our exploration of what gratitude does NOT mean, it is important to recognize that gratitude is not a license for passivity in the face of social injustice.

Being grateful for what is present does not mean that we do not recognize the inequalities and injustices that exist in the status quo and work towards change for a better world.

In other words, there is a difference between "be grateful for what you have" and "be content with what is." It is completely okay (in fact often necessary) to be rightly ticked off about some things while also giving what you do have its full measure of attention and appreciation.

Working for change or social justice sometimes means giving a lot of attention to things that are negative, painful or unjust. When we are giving those things the attention that they need, it can lead to burnout or ongoing distress. When we continue to balance the space in our brain with gratitude for things that are positive and good, we ensure that we have a...