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3 Blessings and gratitude letter
I tried to come up with global, personal, and specific blessing for each day. There were specific blessing that came up every day. I am always thankful for my family and my sobriety, with out those two things there may not be much else to be thankful for.
The activity of coming up with blessing each day was helpful and a great experience, one that I plan to continue. However, as far as producing positive dreams… I struggled. The past couple weeks have been really tough as I have been working through a loss of a close friend. I dreamt about that almost every night because although I tried to focus on positive thoughts my thoughts deep down won the battle.
I plan to try this activity again once things have calmed down and I think the act of reminding yourself of the blessings in your life is a positive one, which I plan to continue doing.
Gratitude Letter
Dear Mom and Dad,
This letter is to express my gratitude for all that you have done and continue to do in my life. You have taught me so much about myself and I truly attribute where I am at in life to the both of you.
I am supposed to tell you the specifics on what you have done for me and how it affected my life… where do I start? You have always been there for me. You picked me up when I was down. You are my role models…. How has this affected me?
The love that you have for each other has inspired me to strive for that love in my own life. I count myself so lucky to have that kind of role model in my life. Thank you.
All the work I have done with kids over the years has helped me to realize how remarkable it is that I have parents who love me unconditionally. Both of you never missed a sports game, a recognition night, or any important event in my life. You were always there to cheer me on, help me with my homework, or listen to me sing and dance with my sisters. Thank you.
Mom, you have been more than my mom you have been a best friend, a confidant, and my rock. I can always count on you to make me feel better or talk some sense into me when needed. All I know is whenever something extraordinary happens to me or, in some cases when something terrible happens; you are the first person I call. You are the only one who knows how to find me when I am lost. I hope you know how incredibly grateful I am for everything that you have done for me in my life. I truly don’t know where I would be without you here. Thank you so much.
Dad, how have you affected my life? More ways than I can count. My motivation, my goals, and any success that I achieve can be traced back to you pushing me to be the best person I can be. That means more to me than you will ever know. Even when I was at my worst, no better than the people you see in the courtroom, you saw something in me. Sometimes you were the only one who saw it… and you reminded me on a daily basis that I could achieve anything that I wanted to as long as I put my mind to it. Thank you for instilling in me morals, principles, and the drive to be better. Thank you.
The time that comes to mind the most from over the years is about three years ago when I stood facing a terrible battle, a crossroad, and an unsure path for my future. You both stood by me and walked me through until I could walk on my own. Every night and every morning I had a reassuring call that I could do this, that I could make it. Even at my weakest point you guys believed in me… Thank you so much for building me back up when I was broken into pieces.
Mom and Dad, thank you a million times over… I hope you both understand my sincere gratitude for helping me become the person I am today. I love you.
Your youngest daughter,
Chelsea
This was an amazing assignment. What a wonderful experience. I wasn’t emotional when writing it I was focused on the cognitive part of the letter. I brought it over to my parent’s house and was not emotional until we sat down in the living room. I was so nervous and I didn’t want to read it. I felt so exposed. I do not express my emotions well. But I took a deep breath and read the letter. The second I started to read it aloud I started to cry. I had to pause after every sentence. My mom started to cry and of course that made me cry more. I got through it and felt elated when I was done. I realized that it didn’t even matter how they felt or interpreted the letter the point was that it was a healing experience for me. It felt really good to get it out there and tell them how I felt. Our society doesn’t express gratitude enough. My parents asked me to read it one more time when I was done. I was able to read it the second time without losing it. Afterwards we sat and talked. We reminisced about some of the things I brought up in the letter. Both of my parents said it meant a lot to them.
This was a really healing experience. I have decided to write my sisters a gratitude letter as well. Taking the time to express your appreciation to people that has helped you in your life so important and as a society we do not do it enough. One day when I am a therapist I plan to incorporate this activity into the therapeutic process.