Keeping a Gratitude list helped me to stay grateful during my divorce.
If I felt overwhelmed with my loss, I could take a moment and write down everything I still possessed.
I found that I had many things to be grateful for:
I had two beautiful, healthy children.
I was able to continue living in the home I loved.
I was creative and able to write and play music.
I had my job and my education.
I had my own health, and a willingness to change and grow through my present situation and…
I had the love and support of family and friends.
I was fortunate to have so much during this trying time.
My gratitude list reminded me to be thankful to my Higher Power for giving me so many wonderful gifts.
Through the course of my divorce, and still today, I write down at least ten things I am thankful for each day.
I can always tell when I’m having a bad day, when I’m refusing to embrace an “attitude of gratitude” when I look at the page of my journal and read:
I’m thankful for this pizza.
I’m thankful for being left alone.
I’m thankful that I don’t have to get out of this bed.
Instead of:
I’m thankful for being fed.
I’m thankful for this solitude.
I’m thankful that I have a bed to sleep in.
A gratitude journal is a reminder of all we may be overlooking when we are walking through a time of pain.
“Dear God, help me to find gratitude in my present situation, to look at what I still possess, and be thankful instead of dwelling on my loss.”
Daily Divorce Meditations 
A friend of mine suggested exactly this — and I just started over the past week to write down 10 things at the end of each day. I am truly grateful for your blog as a resource and sounding board too… it’s been on my gratitude list. 🙂
Yeah! 🙂
This is a bit off the gratitude subject here — I saw two of my closest friends this afternoon. One is also good friends with my soon to be ex. He’s been angry and has said repeatedly “no I won’t help him with anything the way he treated you!”.
This afternoon he told me about how he’s lost friends and family in his life, and wished he hadn’t stayed angry and had talked to them more. He said he feels he wants to try to help my ex or at least be friends and not forgive him, but not stay angry and not communicate.
All this talk makes my stomach churn, but I think I understand the feelings — I can’t control (nor do I want to) how people treat either of us, it will change and evolve over time.
And I can’t , over the long haul, react to every little thing that comes up!
But it feels like I am — the chatter goes in my head even if I don’t verbalize it.
I feel I’m healing and then I react to something like this — at least I didn’t drive home and cry…
Did this happen for you too?
Yes… in the beginning, when emotions were high, all of the time… I really had to watch out who I was around… who I spoke to…. limiting social media… ANYTHING could set me off because I was SO close to the “emotional fire” it will mellow in time but right now… you are very vulnerable… It’s good that your friend wants to mend the relationships in his life… it is… and you will get there too!
I just went through divorce and on my birthday (august 13) I decided to start a gratitude jornal/blog.. thank you for this post and for your blog..
I love this keeping a gratitude journal. I hope you are able to keep it up