Instead of a Gratitude Journal, Try a ‘Magical Moments’ Journal

Gratitude is great, but recording magical moments makes us pay attention to our lives

Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash

“The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” John Kabat-Zinn

I was sitting on my deck this morning, just before dawn. My first cup of coffee was sending tendrils of steam into the waning dark. Overhead, a crescent moon hung beside the morning star. As the sun peeked over the mountain, a soft breeze brought the intoxicating scent of tea olive flowers across my nose. Then, a wren landed on the deck rail, staying there to greet the morning with me. When the sun crested the hill, the wren sang out its ‘tea kettle’ song and flew off to start the day. This was a magical moment.

There is a lot going on in this world to create the opposite of magic. We are experiencing fear, frustration, grief, uncertainty and exhaustion. If we are not careful, we can get swept away by it all and lose our connection to the joys of life. When we lose our joy we lose our hope. But life is still full of magical moments if we will just pay attention.

I have seen so many articles about keeping a gratitude journal, and I believe in the power of gratitude. It’s important for us to recognize that no matter what is happening, we still…