Feeling grateful for experiences and events in our lives is an important part of living an abundant life. I used to write a daily gratitude journal. Each evening, I’d sit down with my journal and reflect back over my day. I’d jot down the highlights of the day that I was grateful for. I found this practice to be a centering experience and bouyed my spirits even when things were tough. Even on rough days, I was always able to find something to be grateful for. Then life got busier. I found myself only sporadically writing in my gratitude journal. Then it became months between sessions of writing in my gratitude journal. I never thought that something as simple as a small bowl filled with nature treasures we call our “Peaceful Center Bowl” would bring our family together to share all our gratitude on a daily basis!
When I was missing writing in my gratitude journal but just couldn’t find the time to do it, I started thinking how I wanted to incorporate the whole family into a spirit of gratitude. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about Waldorf philosophy as we embark on a journey to homeschool Little A. In multiple Waldorf books I read about the idea of having a nature table. A nature table is a table or shelf that contains natural objects and scenes related to the current season. I decided we would start with a “nature bowl”. We’re always outdoors exploring on our homestead or adventuring in the woods and mountains around us. We’re always finding and picking up treasures we find in nature. Little A especially loves to bring home her nature finds like pretty rocks, wild flowers, colorful lichens and even an animal tooth! Having a “nature bowl” to place her special treasures seemed the perfect idea.
When we first set up our nature bowl, I also placed a candle inside. When we sit down to eat dinner, we light the candle and then we each share what we were grateful for that day. It has become such a lovely experience for our family to reflect back over the day together and share in our gratitude. It boosts my spirit and binds us together. It helps us keep a positive outlook even when things get tough.
So how did our “nature bowl” become “the peaceful center bowl”?
The first day we started using the nature bowl and sharing our gratitude at the dinner table, I gave my family this explanation: I wanted to start this daily family tradition to add to our daily rhythms as a family. I wanted this ritual to bring peace to our family and shared meal together. I wanted it to help us center ourselves and find balance in our lives. My dear sweet Little A at the age of 3 1/2 took that explanation and morphed it into her new name “The Peaceful Center Bowl”. I think that name is much more fitting than “nature bowl” so we now all call it the lovely name crafted by Little A: The Peaceful Center Bowl.
On days we’re in a rush and forget to light the candle or forget to share what we’re grateful about, Little A always reminds us and ensures we’re sharing our gratitude and centering our souls.
Do you have a family tradition or daily ritual like this? What do you do to reflect on gratitude in your life?
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