How does it work?
You commit to a one month gratitude practice.
Each day write down 3 new things you’re grateful for (see below for optional ways to expand your practice.). Either go out and buy a dedicated journal or create a “Gratitude Jar.” Write your entires on small pieces of paper and drop them inside.
Sign up for a buddy through your participating organization (a public program is on the way!) You will be matched with a buddy based on your preferences. Send each other a message to determine when and how you will communicate.
Now begin noticing what you’re grateful for and writing it down in a journal. Each day, write down 3 new things. Participants are encouraged to contemplate the small joys we share as part of a human family. Your list may also include a “why.” and might look like this:
I’m grateful for the fall leaves because they give me a happy memory of creating leaf piles in the front yard of my childhood home and jumping in.
I’m grateful for my morning coffee (I am!) because it gives me something to look forward to when I wake up.
I’m grateful for the friend who checked in on me today, because s/he makes me feel supported and loved.
After a week of writing, check in with your buddy. If it’s in person or via vide, each person should speak for about 5 minutes, while the other person listens mindfully. Share how it felt to write your entries, challenges you encountered (if any) and some highlights from your week. After each of you has spoken, you can ask questions, exchange thoughts and schedule your next meeting(s).
At the end of month, you’ll have a list of 30 people/places/or things. Before your final meeting, read over the whole list. Share highlights from the month with each other. Don’t forget to thank your buddy for their time and attention!
Want another buddy, sign up again!
What do I need?
Not much!
A journal or gratitude jar (feel free to decorate it!)
Depending on how you choose to communicate: an online video platform (like Zoom) if you’re video chatting or an email address/phone number if not
A little bit of time and the willingness to notice the good in your life!
Why get a buddy?
Gratitude is transformational! If you saturate your life with gratitude, 30 days later, everything will start to look and feel better! After 60 days, even more so! (want proof? see these resources).
Your buddy is an accountability partner on this leg of the life journey; they’re meant to keep you on track and help you form a new habit.
You have someone to share the experience with, who is also practicing with you.
Expand your horizons, meet someone new - perhaps with different views, beliefs and life experiences. A gratitude buddy makes the world a little smaller in the best way possible.
You and your partner will share a temporary and hopefully meaningful time together. It may be a positive memory you have forever. Or even lead to a lasting friendship.
And lastly, we’ve all been through a rocky time these past few years - Covid lockdowns, political unrest, environmental fragility. What the world needs now is more gratitude, more connection, more meaning. Creating a meaningful connection, rooted in gratitude, with another citizen of Planet Earth, is a gift you give all of us.
Expand your practice?
Gratitude buddies are asked to commit to writing down 3 things they are grateful for each day for one month. But if you really want to make the month transformational, you’re welcome to kick it up a notch or two! Here are some ways to do that:
Feeling really grateful? Expand your list to 5 or 10 items.
Write down why you’re grateful for people/places/things. What do they add to your life? How do they support or nourish you?
Practice a gratitude meditation. Here’s one I recorded but there are many out there.
Write a letter/email to someone you appreciate. Maybe acknowledge someone from the past you never properly thanked.
Practice random acts of kindness; give others a reason to be grateful (with spillover effects for you.)
Make a point to notice what others do that you might overlook (think: package delivery, utilities, trash collectors, grocery store workers, etc). Say thank you as often and as meaningfully as you can.
The moment you open your eyes in the morning, smile and give thanks for a new day of possibilities. In the last moments before sleep, review the best parts of your day.
Have a look at what your mind labels “good” and “bad.” Some of life’s most difficult moments offer unexpected gifts. (My cousin reminded me of this when he sent me this parable.)
Help spread the word by telling friends about your experience!