Spring has sprung and it’s May already – my birthday month. Reading back on my daily gratitudes, and I’m reminded that so much has happened! How was this all in one month? A lot of entertainment was consumed: films, TV, books, podcasts. Went down Memory Lane for a little too, which was not unexpected as it was a milestone birthday after all.

Grateful for every day things: people, conversations, food, the internet. Grateful for love and feelings. In fact, I’m reminded of a quote by Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel“. For me, this month, I felt so peaceful.

It’s as if this is the first time in a long while that I’m actually listening to myself and providing what I need for myself. So, here’s May’s gratitude journal:

1 A few things today. Grateful for sleep and lie ins, catching up on some snooze times. Grateful for the hubby finding a really fun and playable game that we can play together, which also has an interesting storyline, called Trine. Grateful for Nomadland, we watched it tonight and I’ve been really looking forward to watching it. Beautifully shot film, really good soundtrack, really interesting character development. Really amazing, thought provoking film.

2 A few things today. Grateful for nature, walking around Kew Gardens and breathing in the nature and seeing some colourful tulips. Grateful for the hubby, taking us along the confusing paths and non paths to finally find Charlotte’s Cottage. Grateful for books, I’ve been seeing book releases about women in Greek mythologies who are now finally propelled front and centre and having their own stories shared. Grateful for Amy Tan, a brilliant writer, who manages to inspire and make me think about things differently. And grateful for understanding different perspective today.

3 Grateful for seafood, as we ate sushi and sashimi for the first time in absolutely ages ie pre pandemic. Grateful for chance encounters, as we bumped into a dear dear friend and it was so good seeing her even if it was just for a few seconds. Grateful for conversations, as we also spoke with a couple of friends, discussing the future and what life could be like in 10 or so years time.

4 Home: grateful for a home today. Grateful for wifi because there were issues with our provider nationwide apparently and working from home with no wifi was difficult to say the least. Grateful for heating, radiators, and warmth as it was raining quite heavily today so the warmth was very much appreciated. Grateful for comfy nooks, as the hubby and I were cosily reading together this evening.

5 Schitt’s Creek: grateful for this sentimental show today, offering some reprieve after a long work day. Absolutely adore the characters and how they’re growing or just ending up in hilarious misunderstandings.

6 Voting: grateful for voting today and exercising my right to vote. Grateful for the women before me who protested for their right to vote many years ago. Grateful we live in a somewhat democratic society, even if proportional representation isn’t the voting system here.

7 Structure: grateful for structure and being able to take a step back. This past week has been a bit overwhelming, but taking steps to put in some structure and write things down has helped. Methodically going through things and reframing things has calmed me too.

8 Conversations: grateful for conversations with friends today. Catching up and talking, discussing the past and future. It was nice and chilled.

9 Sleep: grateful for sleep today. Had a very long lie in this morning and also a substantial unplanned afternoon nap. Grateful for sleep and snoozing to refresh and recharge my batteries.

10 Food: grateful for food today. Made a lovely roast type meal and it smelt really good as it was cooking in the oven. Also tasted really good too. Grateful for food for nourishment and taste and grateful to have the little time I can carve out to cook it.

11 A couple of things today. Grateful for the body, as I’m not aching or in pain so much these days. Grateful for the body physically carrying me and operating again like usual. Also grateful for a virtual event I attended, coaching on being effective during change. I learnt quite a bit, and it was useful being coached on action points that I can hopefully take forward in future. Super grateful to learn about these techniques and how best to use them in different situations.

12 Watermelon seed oil: grateful for this oil today. I’ve been using it to condition my dry arid hair and it’s been working wonders. My hair feels hydrated and smooth and lovely. Grateful to be able to run my hands through these healthier locks of hair.

13 Schitt’s Creek: grateful for this TV show today. Finally finished it, all 6 seasons, and absolutely adore the character development. Grateful to see characters grow and flourish, and grateful for the writing behind this show too. Still sad to see it end, but I understand why each character had to go through what they went through.

14 Writing: very grateful for writing today and pen and paper. Getting thoughts and ideas out of my head and onto paper, having action plans and steps to go forward, taking control and planning things. Grateful for this exercise to try and slow down my mind.

15 Development: grateful for development and changes today. We are trying Now TV and there are so many TV shows that I would’ve loved to have watched years ago. But now, today, I realise that my tastes have changed. I’m grateful for development, of any kind, showing that I’ve changed or I’ve grown as a person. I’m grateful that I’m in a different phase in my life, one where I feel dramas – on TV and in real life – don’t have to be watched or experienced.

16 Memories: grateful for memories today. Doing some tidying up and life admin, sorting through and scanning old birthday and Christmas cards I’ve kept over the years in an attempt to digitalise and almost memorialise things. Grateful for the images, words, and in-jokes. Grateful for the interactions, people, and memories. Grateful that I can still have these tokens digitally without taking up a lot of physical space.

17 Podcasts: grateful for podcasts today and the rich source of information and light bulb moments they bring. I’m currently catching up on episodes from the podcast Asian Boss Girl, and I am floored by how much I learn from these women and from these episodes. Really insightful into my mental health and wellbeing and just who I am as a person.

18 A few things today. Grateful for sleep and lying in a little, recharging and recuperating my energy. Grateful for scrapbooking: I looked at a couple of scrapbooks from just over a decade ago and there were so many things that happened that I’ve practically forgotten about. It was nice to go down memory lane and rejog my memory. Grateful for insight: I had a conversation and it was enlightening learning about how things were tackled at each generation level, seeing how one generation may try to copy the previous generation. I’m grateful that these days I’m a lot more (self) aware and can pinpoint things more easily, trying to break the generational cycle that may still exist. I’m still learning, but I’m slowly moving forward with my wellbeing – I’m grateful that I’ve chosen to move forward.

19 A few things today. Grateful for the hubby for organising a wonderful afternoon/ evening at the Ritz. Grateful for the Ritz and grateful for the invention of afternoon tea, it was delicious and very very filling. Grateful for books and poetry as we also stepped into Waterstones for the first time in a while and I’m keen to get on with some reading. Grateful for stories and story telling providing a little escapism.

20 Food: grateful for food today. Had a delicious light sponge birthday cake from The Ritz that was gifted yesterday that we managed to eat today. And also a large hamper was delivered in anticipation for my upcoming birthday. I haven’t opened it yet but I’m grateful for the food that awaits and also super grateful for the hubby for organising everything.

21 A few things today. Grateful for more representation in film, we watched a couple of films tonight and the diverse cast was really refreshing. Grateful for knowledge, finally writing up some notes and really appreciate past-me for putting in the time collating all this information. Grateful for mantras and wise words, as I’m finding them very useful to raise (self) awareness in all aspects of my life. Grateful for the internet providing relevant up to date information to help make decisions and actions.

22 A few things today. Grateful for catch ups with friends and just chatting and reminiscing. Talking about current issues and the future too, it ended up being quite life affirming. Grateful for classical music, as there were buskers around that played some jaunty songs as well as an opera singer who sang some super soothing songs. Also grateful for technology, allowing me to keep in touch with friends thousands of miles away.

23 A couple of things today. Grateful for food and brownies, baked birthday brownies with the hubby and they are delicious. Trying to save them for my actual birthday but proving a little difficult. Also grateful for writing, as it’s been quite cathartic and life affirming. Getting thoughts out of my head and onto paper has been really helpful.

24 Colleagues: grateful for colleagues today. They’ve provided some hilarious moments today, chatting about days off, birthdays, future holidays. Just random banter that’s been quite uplifting and funny. The mood today was definitely a cheery one.

25 A few things today. Grateful for the hubby for being so lovely today on my birthday, with food, gifts, cards – just everything. Grateful for colleagues for sending so many brilliant gifts, a great sense of humour, and just wonderful people making me feel very special. Grateful for calls and messages from friends and family. Grateful for this day to come, there has been some anticipatory dread, but now that the day is here – it’s not so bad.

26 A couple of things today. Grateful for tulips and bright colours, love my birthday tulips. I’ve noticed they opened up a little in the morning and then closed again by the evening. Grateful for colleagues, as I received a brilliant birthday card from them – just very special. Grateful for a lie in this morning, recharging and recuperating.

27 A few things today. Grateful for tea, using some of the birthday tea with the tiny small pots and using tea diffusers. Lovely subtle taste or maybe I’m not putting enough tea leaves in. Grateful for tulips, the flowers are opening up even more and the colours are so vibrant. Absolutely love tulips. Grateful for a lie in and listening to classical music as I half drift off back to sleep and stay half awake.

28 Friends: grateful for the TV show Friends today. Watched the Reunion documentary film, and man, it brings back great memories of laughing my head off. Absolutely loved this show growing up – it was my all-time favourite show. Grateful for the show, the writers, the actors, just everything. Providing humour and touching moments for that little bit of escapism that’s needed in life every now and then.

29 Friends: grateful for friends today. Having good conversations, catching up, reminiscing, talking about all aspects of life. It was great just talking and conversing really.

30 Modern Love: grateful for this anthology today. We watched an episode last night and another today. I find it really interesting how different stories about love, romance, relationships, and journeys are portrayed. These short and sweet episodes can be enlightening so I’m grateful for this storytelling.

31 Mental health awareness: grateful for better mental health awareness today. Talking to a friend about mental health and talking to the hubby about having more awareness and more accessible information these days. Lockdown and the pandemic has really highlighted certain things and allowed people, including myself, to learn more about mental health and has provided useful tools to cope and manage a better, more peaceful life. Grateful for this today, as I definitely do feel more peaceful these days.