Stop and smell the roses with the Gratitude Diary
Inspired by the acclaimed self-help movie The Secret, Ocean Shores resident Morthern Spears has published a diary she describes as a tool for transformation and growth. Peppered with thought provoking quotes from luminaries like Mark Twain and the Dalai Lama, the beautifully illustrated Gratitude Diary and Daily Planner combines the functionality of a desk diary with inspirational guidance usually relegated to self-help books.
Unlike traditional desk diaries that focus on the act of ’doing’, the 2010 edition invites readers to create a direct connection with their thoughts and actions. Each day starts with the words "Today I am grateful for..." to help people "stop and smell the roses and take stock of what is truly important in an increasingly hectic life".
After a decade working as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation nurse and mental health intervention worker, Morthern decided to leave the "sickness industry" and focus on a career that fostered health, wealth, love, and balance. This eventually led to self-publishing the Gratitude Diary, which is now in its third year.
"Gratitude is showing an appreciation for whatever is going on in your life, even if it appears as if it’s not working for you," Morthern explains. "Gratitude is a form of acknowledging your current reality, which has a direct link with the future."
In fact, Morthern not only writes down everything she is grateful for in her life but also things that have yet to occur in her life. "There is a lot of scientific research that backs up the idea that when we create an emotional connection with a thought form, it actually sets off neurones or neuro-nets in your brainwave patterning that help shape that as a reality.
"So by acknowledging events yet to happen enables me to create an intention and actually feel the emotional energy connected to that particular outcome," Morthern explains of the practice widely used in the sports and business fields.
Morthern recently launched a new initiative called People in Need, which invites readers via her website to nominate a charity or community project in need of support. "Each year we will donate a percentage of Gratitude Diary profits to a particular project and actually get involved with their cause," Morthern says.
"I believe that the practice of gratitude actually creates space in someone’s heart and soul to have compassion for another being, and the empowerment to actually do something," she surmises with a smile.
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