33. gratituesday

Gratitude journaling is such a well known practice. But for me, the concept never really stuck until I read a book last year called The Tools by psychologist extraordinaire Phil Stutz. That book turned me onto a meditation practice of gratitude that helped me cement the practice. And then I turned it into an illustrated series capturing my life. I called the series gratituesday.

You might know about the book The Tools already, but if you don't - it's about a psychologists breakthrough with patients when he shared visualized meditations. His technique is completely different to mainstream psych and a joyous pivot from mechanations of talk therapy. It follows the theory that you just have to act your way into being.

The Tools is already showcased on a website where Phil Stutz along with his protege Barry Michels are sharing the background of the project and the audio files for the visualizations. Since they are part meditations, it's sometimes easier to click the audio and close your eyes and imagine it for yourself rather than read it. If that's something that interests you, the one I'm exploring in this post is called Grateful Flow.

Grateful Flow is about accessing the experiential state of gratitude. A simple gratitude journal is one way to connect our fortunes in the smallest ways to our sense of wonder and appreciation for the world we live in. Phil Stutz takes it to the next level where we don't even have words and we practice just basking in the feeling of gratitude.

We are supposed to imagine a list of things we are grateful for, naming them one by one, and then eventually move from the tangible to intangible and concentrate on the feeling of gratitude. Like a warmth inside the body flowing outward from your heart. Grateful Flow. Then you will feel a higher source of infinite giving all around us, and bask in the abundance.

I like using this tool when I get overwhelmed, tired or stressed. It has become so useful to me and my daily habits that I tracked my gratitude list, and then illustrated them in a series I named gratituesday - because I post it on Tuesdays.

Gratituesday allowed me to commemorate my progress in the gratitude practice. A small title, the date and then three things that went on during the week that made my list. Its made me more aware of the wonderful things happening, and to appreciate the moments as they come.

I illustrate everything from food I ate, things I did, things I saw. I try to make sure I'm not illustrating from one category too often. But being mortal, it tends to be the things I can touch, taste, see, hear. It's made me pay attention to things, and encouraged friends to share their own gratitude lists.

Because it's in my weekly scheduled IG posts, I feel accountable to keep up the practice. As a result, I spend a lot more time at the begining of the week writing doing what things are coming up that I'm looking forward to experiencing. And then of course, at the end of the week, I spend time drawing out the things that actually happened. So I get the gratitude practice before, during and after.

I really try to make sure the things I capture are small. There are times when epic things happen, but more often than not it's just the daily happenings. A small sighting of a bug. A nice meal or snack. A sunrise, sunset. Sometimes it's just the slow moments - because those are really nice in this fast-paced world.

Gratituesday has helped me celebrate all kinds of things. And I like the attitude it cultivates in me. I'm more interested in these small moments - planned or unplanned. I also like how it encourages me to prioritize self-care too, scheduling in things that help me fill up my cup.

I used to be quite cynical and still am (diplo analaytical skills never quite shut off) so I would ruminate on things and get lost in unfinished arguments I would have with characters in my head. Ironic now since I don't need those skills as much in the art arena. So, this gratitude practice has definitely allowed me to let go a little, shift my attention, slow down and feel instead of think. If this is something that might resonate with you, then I definitely recommend giving it a whirl.

cheers to finding the gratitude practice that fills you up,

smarti