Finding balance in the chaos: Gratitude journaling can help

And it turns out, there’s science behind that. A 2015 study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that writing in a gratitude journal for just 15 minutes a day significantly lowered depressive symptoms and stress levels after only three weeks.

Proof that the little things we notice and appreciate can actually shift the way we feel inside and out.

For me, gratitude begins with noticing the small, ordinary moments happening all around. The neighbor who brings in your trash cans before the wind carries them off to Indiana. The partner who makes your coffee just the way you like it. The friend who texts, “You good?” and actually waits for an honest answer.

In our house, gratitude often looks like chaos in disguise. Like the burnt French toast my daughter insists on making “all by herself,” or the laundry mountain that means everyone here has plenty to wear.

Some days, it’s harder to see the blessings through the mess, but when I pause long enough, they’re always there, hiding in the everyday noise.

This season, I’m trying to make gratitude less of a November thing and more of an all-year habit. Saying “thank you” out loud. Writing it down.

So here’s my challenge for our Gem City families: Take a moment this week to name one small thing that’s good in your world. If you feel like it, write it down. Maybe it’s a warm mug of coffee before the house wakes up.

Maybe it’s a Sunday drive to Yellow Springs with the trees showing off. Maybe it’s just making it through another Monday. At the end of the week look at your list and really see your blessings.

Gratitude won’t fix everything but it changes how we see things. And that, my friends, just might be enough.