Creative Every Day - Gratitude Mandala - Day 1

Back in 2012, I did a weekly gratitude list that was part of the Take a Stitch Tuesday embroidery journal I was doing throughout the year. I have missed doing that in 2013, and have been thinking about something to do in place of that.

So, on October 14th, I began writing a daily gratitude list. Each day, I'm writing three things for which I'm grateful. It's just a running list of things that come to mind that I am thankful for - people, things...anything, really.

Gratitude mandala I made based on things for which I was grateful 

from October 14th to now.

Inspired by Donna Gentile and Mandala 365 Project: Source

This ties into the monthly theme of "gratitude" at church. There are three questions that are offered as a springboard to deeper reflection and conversation:

=> What are you most grateful for right now, and why?
=> What does “having enough” mean to you?
=> What practices help you to express gratitude; for others, for life, for the earth, for the Sacred?

As I was thinking about these questions, I looked to the internet for some inspiring words and images that have been written about gratitude. I came across this pin on Pinterest that visually captures gratitude. (It links to Donna Gentile and her Mandala 365 Project.)

Using that concept, I created a mandala with 16 spokes. Each of the spokes has a different theme of something  for which I'm grateful.

The finished mandala.

Under the spokes, I wrote a bit more detail about the specific things I had mentioned during the past half-month on my gratitude list.

Close-up of the the center and some of the 16 spokes.

It would be interesting to do these type of mandalas every so often and see how they change...or if there are some things that I consistently write about. These people and things would be ones that I am deeply grateful for and are thankful that they are in my daily life.