3 Tips for Starting a Gratitude Journal in the Middle of a Shit Storm

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It’s a paradoxical sight to see someone sitting on the beach during wildfire season, and I use it for much more than journaling my gratitude. This type of journaling is the only method I’ve found that works with my ADHD and allows all the room I need to be creative—and distracted.

During August, the BC skyline becomes a dystopian orange, draining all of the colors out like water. This summer, the fires are worse than ever. The scene is like something out of “Blade Runner 2049.” A blanket of smog hangs over the top of an idyllic ocean, gently kissing the shoreline the way I kiss my partner between bites of strawberries and sips of iced tea.

Sitting on the beach while the world is both literally and figuratively burning down around you might not be the most conventional date idea, but that’s what life is like for women with Endometriosis.

We may never actually see the fires raging inside of us, but we feel them constantly turning the structure of our bodies and our lives to blackened vitality. Beneath all the smoke, we can’t make out anything besides the burnt remnants of pain.

Last week, I talked about the benefits of gratitude and I left a rather open-ended question: How can have a gratitude journal when life is nothing but a steaming pile of shit?

I’ve been using the bullet journal system for more than a year now thanks to the lovely YouTuber Jessica McCabe of How to ADHD, and I use it for much more than journaling my gratitude. This type of journaling is the only method I’ve found that works with my ADHD and allows all the room I need to be creative—and distracted.

Another benefit of the bullet journal is it allows me to combine gratitude and planning with art therapy. I’ve found that being able to access my creative side and catalog my everyday life creates a sense of accomplishment.

Art is a catalyst for restoring a fractured identity and control.

As McCabe has mentioned several times over, the analog task of maintaining a pen and paper journal in the digital age has numerous benefits. What’s more? Amazon Prime has all the basic tools you need to get started.

The perfect journal.

The journal is the centerpiece. I like the Leuchtturm books because they can really take a beating. The card-stock is thick enough for even my oil-based pen markers and the pages don’t overtly warp with watercolor painting. It also comes with archival stickers and a folder in the back to keep important papers or photos!

A set of writing tools.

Of course, any pen or pencil will work, but these micron pens are my go-to. They hardly ever bleed, and they use archival ink, so after it dries it won’t go anywhere even after painting over it with watercolor. You can get them in a wide range of sizes and tips, and they last for years.

There are no rules to what you can and can’t use in a bullet journal. Any water-based marker can be gorgeous with some creativity, but the Tombow brush pens are my personal favorite. I mainly use the primary color set and mix them in a pallet to create any additional colors I might need. They’re so easy to use and have fun with and they give you the freedom of a marker and a brush pen while also behaving as much like watercolor paint as you want them to.

A Polaroid camera.

In the era of social media behemoths like Facebook and Instagram, the Polaroid camera has been having a bit of a well-deserved renaissance. What better way to capture a moment of beauty and gratitude than with a physical photo you can put directly inside your journal?

The unpredictable nature of a Polaroid photo is that it may not turn out exactly the way you want it to, but it becomes something different and interesting on its own. When a picture doesn’t develop as you thought, it doesn’t mean it’s ruined. If all I looked for on the beach was a skyline behind a wall of smoke, I might have missed all the love in front of me.

Keep looking for your gratitude.

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