Happy Notes!
What are Happy Notes?
Happy notes are a gratitude practice that I began a few years ago, after seeing a post about them on Pinterest. I write down one thing that made me happiest in my day for every day of the year. It can be something important, like seeing a friend I haven’t seen in a long time, or a miniscule detail in my day like seeing a cicada’s shed skin on a telephone pole. No matter the day, no matter the moment, something goes on my little piece of paper.
This is a practice absolutely anyone can do - you can make it digital. You can make it a photo diary instead. You can make it a journal entry, or stick to small hand written notes like me. Making your happy notes your own will help you continue the practice every day. You can start at any moment as well - we don’t have to go by the calendar year!
How’d Happy Notes help me?
For starters, gratitude practices are known to ‘rewire’ your brain! Another way to do this is with a gratitude journal. When I started writing my happy notes, I’d feel a sense of excitement as I’d go about my day, knowing that at some point joy would search me out. This joy had a snowball effect: daily happy moments became abundant once I realized that even the smallest moment could be full of joy. It sounds cheesy, but sometimes I feel like I’ve got more joy than I can fit on my tiny handwritten notes! I truly feel blessed.
During the 2020 year, during COVID and the accompanying lock downs, my happy notes have definitely been harder - but they have kept me going. These notes sometimes capture the only moment of joy in my day under COVID - and I’m okay with that, because I’ve learned that there’s always something to look forward to, even in the darkest of days. These notes are what I want to remember from this time anyway!
What do you do with all your Happy Notes?!
I reread them!
At the end of the calendar year, I go through every note I’ve written during the year. If they involve another person, I sometimes like to share the note with them if I am able to. Not only do I get to live with the joy as it happened and relive the joy when I’m rereading my notes, but I also get to spread the joy when I share it with the person who made it possible in that day. I like to think that spreading my gratitude puts a bit of energy out into the world that we could definitely use right now!
