Pillowbook of Prudence…
Some years ago, I heard about Oprah Winfrey’s Gratitude Journal… that each day, one take a small moment for reflection and jot down five things that one could be grateful for in that day. Oprah’s idea was that no matter how black the day, how deep the depths and how hard it might be to keep one’s head above the water, there was always something, maybe more than one thing, that one could find for which to be grateful.
So I found a little notebook in a cupboard that day and I began my Gratitude Journal. Every night before I sleep, I jot down five things. When the notebooks are filled, I read back through them and then tear them up and consign them to a fire. They are mostly my personal things… not for others to read.
It’s rare that I forget to write my five things… and even through some tough times of severe family illness and loss, I have never not been able to find at least five things to be thankful for. Oprah was right… there’s always something…
Grateful for:
1. A day that was birthed in Paradise. Blue to infinity. Clear, cool air that freshens the lungs and the mind. Calm… no breeze, so that one could hardly identify the real from the  reflection. A day in which to feel that all is well.
2. OH has had a day without fever. The first for seven days.
3. The beach… deserted but for me, the dogs and the dotterels. Small waves plopping themselves on the shore. Hardly a noise. Soothing.
4. Young Dog looked at me as if she loved me. Not slavishly… just a blink of brown eyes and a quirk to the mouth and a nudge to my leg. As if she was saying, ‘Yep, you’ll do.
5. Embroidery… the whisper of silk thread pulling through silk fabric and the sight of a leaf growing before the eyes. The cool feel of the fabric as one holds it. The smell of silk… redolent of fabric shops in Thailand. Bolt upon bolt of the most sumptuous fabrics lined up like books on a shelf.
Thanks for sharing.
I’ve never managed to learn embroidery, although I did teach myelf rudimentary sewing and knitting once.
But your last point reminded me of here in West Africa where clothes are so wonderfully colourful and the women and girls always so elegant and refined in their dress-sense, no matter how impoverished their circumstances.
I live in one of the poorest countries on the planet, but while fashions may vary, the desire to dress well and feel good about the clothes you wear has no regard for race or nationality.
Most of the fabric here is, inevitably, imported, but the clothes made from it are invariably breathtakingly beautiful. Never a day goes by when I am not thankful to be here and thankful for the beauty all around me.
If anyone ever feels that money is the key to happiness they should come and live here.
Mark, I often look at images of African fabrics and embroidery and marvel at the purity of the colour and the perfect simplicity of the thread designs. What I love about the way the women dress, is the way the costume is folded to drape and pleat in such a way as to make an incredibly dramatic statement. There is no arrogance, just an elegant statement of pride in self and race.
Oh, and in respect of money: I came to a determination a number of years ago that money means very little beyond immediate health and safety. I knew a group of incredibly wealthy folk and found selfishness and arrogance were deeply embedded in their psyches. They talked about themselves and rarely made an effort to engage outside their rarified circle. If there were folk whose status was less than their own perceived place in this world, they were judged and judged harshly.
Its why I believe in the God of Small Things. I take solace and pleasure in things like fresh air, waves, reflections, a dog’s cool nose in the palm of a hand. Priceless by comparison.
So glad OH is feeling better. He had me worried!!
Been in and out a lot…mostly, out, with grands! Speaking of blessings…
@Mark…hubs and I are active in a mission in Burkina Faso for the last few years. Altho we haven’t been there, the mission founder has been here, so we feel like we’ve “been there”. Also, 3 or our friends have done tours there. What you said about money=happiness…oh yeah. And the founder has sent me glorious materials woven by the women there and embroderied items. The colors just scream “Life”!
Mes, I can almost smell that walk along the beach and feel the peace you’re experiencing! BTW, I finally got my review up on “The Stumpwork Robe”. Tardiness seems to be my hobby lately. 😉
Burkina is only a few days travel from here in The Gambia (a few hours if you are prepared to use local air transport – which I’m not brave enough to…) and is an amazing country. I love to visit. And the children are, of course, adorable, as everywhere.
But for most people there, even without the ravages of war and famine, life is a daily hardship beyond the understanding of most of us in the rich first-world.
It’s great to know you’re doing your bit from afar to help.
I love the way you have all engaged on the blog while I’ve been asleep… its a great thing to wake up to and somehtingelse to be grateful for. AND that you should all have kindred thoughts. (Anne Shirley, where are you?)
Another thing to be grateful for is the review which you have placed on Amazon, November Bride. Thank you. I’ve been so lax in marketing and talking here, there and everywhere that its ranking has dropped to the lowest ever, but its a case of priorities and OH takes absolute priority right now. And he’s mending, so there’s another ‘grateful’ thing.
@ Mark: ” Being perfectly well-dressed gives a feeling of tranquility that religion is powerless to bestow.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, quoting a friend
@ Prue: Mouth-watering descriptions, as always. And doesn’t that happen every now and then with dogs? You catch a look out of the corner of an eye and you think “There’s somebody in there!”
Pat, I am indebted to you. A wonderful quote from RWE.
I read it re-attributed recently replacing “religion” with “psychotherapy.”
Pat meet Mark, Mark meet Pat!
That’s the thing with African women: they dress and move as if equanimity is in their lifeblood, no matter the circumstance. There is an evident gracefulness (or if one wants to be more fulsome: a state of grace) that money can’t buy.
My life would be the poorer without dogs… I shall have at least two until I am too ancient to care for them. In the same way as I have sight, sound, touch, taste and smell… I also have dogs.
The love of a pet always strikes me as a special privilege. I find the idea that such a bond can exist between two creatures of different species quite humbling.
So sorry to hear of your OH’s illness. My very best wishes for his speedy recovery.
Thank you for this reminder, Prue. This week, I’m going to reinstate this exercise in my life. I lost the habit, and miss the added joy that it brings.