On March 7, 2011, I embarked on a journey of gratitude. It was transformational.
The idea behind my previous gratitude journey was to truly change my view of the world and in turn change my attitudes about the world. I do not think that I am am overly negative person, but I wanted to focus on the goodness around me. I ended up making 100 entries in that journey, (on this blog as a matter of fact). The first entry of that journey is located here: https://blogs.bixby.ca/?p=142
There are two factors that are prompting me to undergo this exercise:
Firstly, I am turning 50 years old in a few days. Birthdays and milestone birthdays have never really held any significance for me, but I have been asked so many times: “What are you doing to commemorate your fiftieth birthday?” that I felt I should do something. This journey of gratitude is what I am doing.
Secondly, I see that hastag #100HappyDays cropping up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. It reminds me of how rich my gratitude exercise was a few years ago.
The start of another great journey.
I would like to explain a couple of things at this point. Mostly, because I have asked my immediate family to join me in this journey. Kathy, Krystal, & Teri have all agree to take a #BixbyFifty journey as well. That makes me very happy. 🙂
Why the Hashtag #BixbyFifty?
Well, it is unique. It will not get lost in the sea of social media. I did not create the hashtag out of vanity, I want it to stand out. I also want people to be curious and ask any of us on the journey what it means. When we explain to others what this means, it deepens the meaning for ourselves. Also, the idea of this is to be a bit more reflective than the current 100 days of happiness social media movement. I few sentences or a few paragraphs for each entry. I want to really engage in a deeper dive for this.
How often do you post and where?
The idea is to make a daily posting on Facebook. However, we all know that there will be days when we simply do not have time. With that in mind, each post will have a numeric hashtag of #Day1, #Day2, etc. In that manner, we will all make fifty postings on this journey. It may take us fifty days or one hundred days, no matter. A journey of gratitude will happen as it should. These postings will show up on Facebook. Actually, mine will be on this blog, but will get propagated to Facebook through my blog. I like writing on a public platform as it make my words more real. I feel like I have to be more accountable for what I say. That is a good thing, after all, this is not a superficial journey.
What if I am just not feeling grateful for anything, there are days I am in a dark mood?
This is even more reason to do the journey. It is by engaging in mindful reflection during dark periods where we gain insights. Dark moods are not bad, but it is important that we understand and own our emotions. This can be very empowering.
Can anyone engage in this journey?
Sure. The more the merrier. Attitudes of gratitude are contagious and help make our world a better place. 🙂