January's Experiment : Gratitude Journaling

As part of My Big, Weird Year, I'm testing out a new, daily habit every month. It's part self-improvement, part social-experiment, part girl-you're-crazy.

Starting a gratitude journal has been on my "should" list since forever, Probably ever since Oprah told me that it changed her life, which was maybe... fifteen years ago? I was just a wee Rose watching Miss Oprah after school, probably snacking on Totino's pizza and drinking too much soda. Interestingly, not much has changed, in that regard.

For a while, bookstores were displaying the Oprah-approved brand of gratitude journals in prominent places, and starting my own journal seemed simultaneously intimidating and enticing. There it was, a life-changing experience for only $12.95, but there was always something shinier and more interesting to spend my money on, which meant that I usually put it off until later.

And the thought of starting a gratitude journal on non-official card stock? Blasphemous, I tell you.

Fast-forward a decade or two and here we are.

So, what do I hope to get out of this month's experiment? Oh, you know... Just like... Stuff?

The problem with answering this question honestly is that it's so difficult for me to just be earnest for fuck's sake. It's so much easier for me to be sarcastic or funny or (on a good day) sarcastic and funny. I hate to say it, but I've fallen into sarcasm as a default reaction, and sometimes, that isn't pretty.

Is it lame to say that I want gratitude journaling to sharpen my experiences and make me happier, that I want to be more aware of how great my life actually is--instead of distracted by all the noise and entitlement and weirdness that sometimes seems to cloud my brain like some kind of douche-fog?

Yes. To all those things, yes.

Especially the part about douche-fog.