How a Simple Mason Jar Can Bring More Gratitude to Your Life

I see a lot of articles on Facebook. Some are entertaining, some are interesting, and most I wish I had never wasted the time to read. But some of what I find is inspiring.

There were a couple of times I had seen a post about a “gratitude jar,” and I absolutely loved the idea. I often need to see things come around on my newsfeed a couple of times before I open them, read them through, and choose to act (or not act) based on what I read. Here was something I really wanted to put it into practice. I saw it as an experiment of sorts. I wanted to see what could happen as a result of having my own gratitude jar.

It was magical.

I purchased a large, glass mason jar, put it on my kitchen counter, and very simply labeled it “Gratitude Jar.” I put some post-it notes on top with a pen and instructed my family that we were beginning a group exercise and that the rules were simply that each person was to begin paying close attention to things that happened that they were thankful for, no matter how big or small or seemingly silly. We were going to “capture” those moments by writing them down on pieces of paper and depositing them in the jar.

There was no requirement to do it every day. No one would be checking on anyone else to see if they were following through. No one was required to participate; it was gently encouraged.

We decided we would open the jar after a year and together read the notes—the moments of gratitude held within.

Things got off to a slow start. Then, interesting things began to happen.

My perception began to shift. Instead of focusing on what went wrong during the day, my focus became what went right. I started to notice simple things like a momentary breeze on a hot day, having a traffic light turn green just as I was nearing the intersection, enjoying a good workout, or just savoring a few minutes to read a good book before falling asleep at night. The positive began to occupy much more real estate in my mind than the negative.

My perception began to shift. Instead of focusing on what went wrong during the day, my focus became what went right. I started to notice simple things like a momentary breeze on a hot day, having a traffic light turn green just as I was nearing the intersection, enjoying a good workout, or just savoring a few minutes to read a good book before falling asleep at night. The positive began to occupy much more real estate in my mind than the negative.

The notes accumulated. The others in my family saw the pile growing and began tossing theirs in as well. When one of us would twist the metal top of the jar, someone in another room would declare that they could HEAR gratitude being expressed!

Sometimes several days or even a couple of weeks would pass and I’d suddenly realize I hadn’t contributed anything to the jar. That’s how I’d know I needed to re-shift my thinking. I probably wasn’t as attuned as I needed to be to what was going well. And so I did.

We all have days that don’t feel so good. On those days, it was helpful to catch sight of the jar to remind me that I am, in fact, blessed, with a lot of things to be grateful for. The jar offered me support even when I was struggling to find ways to contribute to it.

It became a conversation piece. Visitors would ask what the significance was of the jar with the little papers in it. I’d explain and they’d become excited at the prospect of trying it for themselves.

A year passed. My family and I sat down around our kitchen table and emptied the gratitude notes in a big pile. One by one, we went around and read each note (it didn’t matter who wrote it). I was surprised to discover that everyone had participated, some more than I anticipated. We laughed as we recalled funny moments, were surprised at some of the things we cherished in common, and even got teary as we expressed through this process our sincere appreciation for one another.

We even discovered notes from those who had visited our home and had written and deposited them without our knowing!

As we finished reading the gratitude notes, we all agreed that this was something we wanted to do again. We filed the old notes away; we couldn’t bear to part with them and the good feelings they generated. When I left the kitchen that night and went to turn off the lights, I caught sight of several pieces of paper that were already making their home in the bottom of a jar that couldn’t stay empty for longer than just a few moments.

What will happen when YOU keep a gratitude jar?

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