How Gratitude Changed Me

About three years ago, I started a gratitude journal. It dramatically changed the way I viewed things and softened my heart for others. Every day for months and months, I wrote down a small list of little things that I was grateful for or about at the end of each day. It refined me, grew up, and challenged me to count each tiny blessing as a gift.

But there are moments that I lose sight of gratitude, when I forget just how richly I've been blessed. The second I lose sight of it, I feel a bit of bitterness, comparison, and entitlement set in. It's ugly, really. It makes me want more for myself, instead of giving to others. 

So I remind myself daily, there is always something more I can give. Sometimes this means rejoicing with a friend over coffee or saying hello to a stranger as our paths cross. At the end of the day, sometimes I feel silly writing down little lists of tiny small almost meaningless things that happen throughout. But each teeny tiny moment that I put on paper serves as a reference point to how blessed I am. And the more blessed I discover myself to be, the more I am able to richly bless others.

sweater: loft

dress: old navy

graphic print: alexis june

photos: c/o chaotic beauty photography