It was in that cozy room (it was freezing outside) that I got the chance to meet Gilbert. She was blonde, I was brunette then. She is still blonde, I am now also blonde. She was simple, humble , energizing and incredibly honest. She knew who she was. I was still discovering and perhaps just now coming to an understanding of who I am.
It was in that room that I asked to have my picture taken with her after she had signed the book.
Every book that Gilbert published after that I confidently purchased. However, my favourite one to date has been "The Signature of All things". It was so exquisitely written and a true masterpiece. It is an intellectual novel and not everyone will find it an easy read but I could not put it down. I have now purchased "City of Girls" (signed copy from the UK no less) and brought it all the way to Dubai (The kindle thing just isn't my thing yet, but I promise I am trying).
I follow Gilbert on Instagram and love her filter free posts, her fearlessness, her care for humanity and also how open and honest she is about life and its trials and tribulations. She is the antidote of all the pretty filtered instagram posts including my own. After all, we are all struggling with ego versus soul.
Her latest post offers a glimpse into her journal writing in where she introduces "The Gratitude Bomb". Most of us struggle with being thankful as we take things for granted. We also struggle with putting our gratitude into words or even filtering through our cluttered minds all the things we are grateful for. I am one of those people who thinks "Holy shit, I am actually so lucky and blessed yet here I am wishing for other things" . Wanting, wanting, wanting never ends and can become addictive. Displaying gratitude is the medicine to this addiction. Gilbert provides a very clear, organized and simplified way to structure your gratitude. She displayed this on her Instagram post as follows:
I set off a Gratitude Bomb in my journal yesterday. Science says that gratitude is good for you. Like, REALLY good for you. As in: Simply writing down three things a day that you are grateful for reduces inflammation. Lowers stress. Reverses depression. Increases optimism. So...if merely writing down three things that you’re grateful for will do all that, imagine what would happen to your life if you set off a GRATITUDE BOMB?! Would you like to know how to create a gratitude bomb? Well, I shall teach you, because I made it up. Draw a warm golden sun, in the middle of the page. (Or, if you’re trying to be artsy like me, draw the sun off-center. Because: edgy!) This is now the core of your new galaxy of gratitude. Draw six lines, radiating out from the sun. (Or use fancy washi tape, like I did, because maybe you haven’t been drinking lately, and maybe you are alone, and so maybe you have a LOT of free time your on your hands these days to buy art supplies.) Label the six segments: SPIRIT, COMMUNITY, FAMILY, BODY, WORK, HOME. And then fill in each segment with words about what you are grateful for, in each category. Let the words spill right off the page, with the understanding that this galaxy is expanding. Imagine that your gratitude is shooting right out into space. Some segments will be easier to fill than others. Dig deep. Get creative. If you’re having trouble with your family of origin, for instance, show gratitude for the other kinds of “family” that you have in your life. (Pets, plants, and books count as family, by the way. Clouds are also your family.) If you hate your job, find gratitude for having one at all —or think deeper about what your REAL work in the world is. (Maybe your real work to forgive yourself. Or maybe your real work is to pick up scraps of trash off the street, so nobody else has to do it.) If you’re having health problems, find gratitude for what is still working in your body—or humbly thank it for the years of health and service it gave you. Keep going. Fill the page. Fill the galaxy. Trust that you are blessed, even when you forget that you are blessed. It’s time to remember. #gratitudebomb Onward❤️LG
With this in mind, I decided that perhaps there were others like me who needed a bit more motivation to record their blessings and so I decided to create a digital file of the Gratitude Bomb in three different versions , free to download and print on an 8x11 sheet. This is free for anyone in the world to use for themselves and for their students. Perhaps, you do not have a journal or perhaps you want to print and place this gratitude bomb somewhere where it can be seen as a reminder. Perhaps, you to print one for every day of the year. The choice is yours. It is free, available to download and for anyone to use. It was made for any human needing it.
It has been envisioned with gratitude by Elizabeth Gilbert and designed with love by Daniela Waheed.
DOWNLOAD HERE:
FIRST SIZE IS SMALL PERFECT FOR A JOURNAL SIZE
SECOND SIZES BELOW PRINT ON 8X11
DOWNLOAD HERE:
FIRST SIZE IS SMALL PERFECT FOR A JOURNAL SIZE
SECOND SIZES BELOW PRINT ON 8X11
