It all began back In 2008. I was feeling really down. It seems strange now to say that because I can't think of a good reason why I should have been, but I know I felt incredibly out of sorts with life. It was like I knew in my head I had it good but I really wasn't enjoying myself!
I started seeing a Nun who did life coaching and counselling. She was brilliant and told me the secret to happiness. According to her it was all about reflection and gratitude. She asked me to try it out each night and write something down about my day that I was grateful for. So I did.
It really surprised me how quickly I began to notice things that I otherwise would have missed. I remember sitting on my bed one night and realising that the little moments I was thinking through were really special and if I had not taken the time to notice them they would be lost forever.
It shocked me how much I had missed so I started to take the project seriously. I got a beautiful album and ordered enough polaroid film to see me through a year! (and lucky I did!) Taking one photo every day for a year of something I was grateful for really re-programmed my brain. I couldn't believe how much gratitude affected my life. Seeing and celebrating the good in my life affected not only the way I felt spiritually and physically but it improved my relationships with others too. It was not long before it was hard to only take a single photo each day. The more I noticed and took photos the more I began to notice the good and great moments in my life and want to capture them.
I shared my first polaroid project on Flickr. From there a group was formed and others began their own version of this project.
The idea was spread by articles in FRANKIE and NOTEBOOK magazines. It has been amazing seeing other people interpret the idea in their own way and find similar results to me.
I have had so many emails and chats with people who also find the practice of celebrating the now, the good, the special moments so, so enriching. I am now very excited to begin the big journey of filming and sharing the stories of some of these incredible people while discovering more about the power of gratitude.
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