Keeping a Contentment Journal

[Passionfruition]

Recently, I read what is now one of my favorite books of all time: "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert

At first, I started noting to myself my favorite quotes. But truly, there are too many to count!!!

One of the many ideas and pieces of advice I was inspired to begin through reading this book is what she calles a "Contentment Journal". She says, looking back in the past, she has only kept a journal when she's miserable...only to write about the more negative aspects of life.

WHAT IF you, at the end of each day, just wrote down one thing--one sentence--mentioning the happiest moment of your day? (No matter how small! It can be anywhere from "how the sun felt on my shoulders as I walked outside to check the mail" to "how hard I laughed when my friend so-and-so said such-and-such".)

I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now, and I find myself during the day, thinking, "hmm, is THIS the moment I'll mention in my journal tonight?" I don't write much...just one sentence, usually. That's it, easy peasy! And often it takes less than a minute!!!!

Off the top of my head, I can't tell you what I was doing last Tuesday, or what made that ONE day out my life special....but now thanks to keeping this journal, I can look back on my everyday life and appreciate each day more fully.

(a quote

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You have to fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it.
You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.

And once you achieve a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it...

It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments."
- Elizabeth Gilbert, "Eat, Pray, Love"