Gratitude Journal
Mental health experts suggest keeping a gratitude journal.
We’ve listened to many webinars on handling COVID-19 and moving forward. One of the mental health experts mentioned keeping a gratitude journal, and we loved that idea. Below you’ll find some of our own entries and those from our Angus Facebook community. What would be in your journal?
“In these dire times, the truth is coming out about so many things. From true hair color to where our food comes from. I’ve always been on the cow-calf side of agriculture in the Rocky Mountains. I know nothing about growing almonds or farming corn, or chasing cows through cactus. Down timber and bogs are what we break our stock horses for so we can rely on them when things go wrong. I’m so thankful for all the farmers and ranchers who do what they do and excel at it all across our great country. I’m thankful for our migrant workers, and I pray they are treated kindly and with respect. And thank you for all our real Americans who know what it took to build this country and keep going every day. Thank you! And the ultimate thanks goes to our Savior who loves us and protects us and forgives us for cussing his creatures on a bad day.”
“We are grateful for the 2020 calving season, which has kept us busy and our minds focused on the babies and not the current stressful things in the news.”
 |
[Photo by Arlene Young Lagerquist] |
“Gratitude doesn’t seem like a strong enough word to describe the feeling I have for a job that allows me to visit cattle producers. They are the finest people on Earth, and it is a privilege to be around them. I’m also grateful to know the Lord is still on the job, even though we can’t meet in His house this Sunday.”
“I am grateful for spending more time just talking. I’m acknowledging the resources that I use and throw away every day (hand soap, toilet paper, napkins, plastic containers, tin cans). I'm more grateful that people are sacrificing to continue to go to work (grocery store employees, truck drivers, garbage truck drivers, doctors). I’m grateful my church leaders have counseled members since the ’90s to have a year’s worth of food storage. I’m grateful for the people who call or text to check in and see how others are doing. I feel like I’m trying a little harder to spend my time wisely. Probably to sum it all up, I’m just paying more attention to my life.”
“I’m grateful for the extra time with family. It’s like a little bonus that I never expected — sharing time cooking together, working on projects together, talking, checking cows together and just generally being a family at a slower pace.”
“This afternoon, I am so grateful for the warm sunshine. Even though it's going to cool off again, it will warm back up. I am grateful to live in a country where we can practice our religion, for the fact that a church is not the physical structure but the people who worship together, and for an amazing group of co-workers and the people we serve.”
“I’m so grateful for the time to slow down by taking Sunday drives to different conservation areas near us. Our 3-year-old is loving getting to be outside, and we’ve gotten so much more dedicated family time.”
