ALS NaPoWriMo Day 29 Prompt: Write a poem in the form of a journal entry. It could be a food journal, travel journal, dream journal, gratitude journal or daily journal.
Using the words of Oprah Winfrey for my poem today, “Whenever you can’t think of something to be grateful for, remember your breath. With each breath you take, you can say, ‘I’m still here.’”
Poem: My Gratitude Journal
April 29, 2025
Tuesday, 7 pm
“Whenever you can’t think of something to be grateful for,
Remember your breath.
With each breath you take,
you can say, ‘I’m still here.’”
These words of Oprah have always made me feel grateful for life.
Today, I want to focus my thoughts on paying gratitude,
For it is with gratitude that we expand our hearts,
And open the doors to abundance and grace.
—
I woke up today with a feeling of calmness.
Looking at the sunrise and the chirping birds,
I asked myself, “Do I pay my gratitude enough?”
Gratitude for these nourishing rays of light that make life possible,
Gratitude for the vastness of the sky that provides a sanctuary to us,
Gratitude for the enthralling beauty of nature that reinvigorates our being every day,
The multicoloured and vibrant flora that nurtures us in myriad ways.
To all these, I paid my gratitude in my heart, once again.
—
What about another day that I have been blessed?
The night that embraced me in its arms and helped me forget my woes and pain,
Didn’t it caress me like a mother and relieve me of my day’s load?
And what about the body that I have been blessed with, in the best of its health,
And a heart that’s filled with love and warmth, and feels another’s pain,
Grateful I felt for all of these, and for the balanced state of mind,
The discipline of prayer and meditation, and that of yoga and exercise,
Grateful I am for the acumen to discern the significance of these.
—
Grateful I am for the abundance of friends who help me grow each day,
Their constant presence in my life is like a pillar of great strength.
How would I face life’s challenges without their support, relentless?
What use would be my success, if I’ve no one to celebrate it with?
And when I think of encouragement and growth, I must pay gratitude to my dear family–
Am I not blessed to have a caring and considerate family?
Don’t they help me know more about the world and myself?
How can I forget the role they’ve played in my lifetime on this Earth?
—
As I sit down to write my thoughts today in the pages of my journal,
I cannot convey my gratitude enough for the ability to express,
The art of articulating my thoughts into words to voice my inner emotions,
Has helped me stabilize my muddled thoughts in the most therapeutic way.
I pay my gratitude for His blessings divine, and for walking by my side,
Indebted I am for His grace and abundance to help me rise and shine,
This journal of my gratitude, experiences, insights and learning,
Is like peeling layers of myself, for an intimate rendezvous with my true inner being!
—
©Vandana Bhasin
29.04.2025
