26/12/2025
I’ve been journaling lately.
It’s not something I’d normally do - I’ve never been much of a writer or a sharer of deep thoughts. I always say that if you want intellect, talk to my partner Gwen. She’s the knowledge; I’m the charisma. Although, in reality, she’s also very funny, so I’ve got some competition!
The idea of a gratitude journal always felt a bit cringe. How do you not just write the same things every day - friends, home, family, job? Good things, obviously, but after a few days you’ve got the idea.
What works better for me is a morning dump. Not an actual crap... though I wouldn’t discourage that if needed. I just sit down and write whatever’s in my head. It’s been surprisingly therapeutic. There’s a lot to process these days: constant news cycles, a bleak political and economic outlook, how little tolerance we seem to have for each other… and my electric bill was £250 this month. Getting those thoughts out first thing is pretty cathartic.
You don’t even have to write about anything serious. One morning I had no idea what to say, so I just listed everything Canada makes me think of. The first thing? Moose so big that if one’s outside your house, you’re allowed to take the day off work.
In the evening, I write a highlight from my day. Nothing major, some days don’t offer much, but I must find one! Maybe Missy (my dog) did a wee and then sprinted three victory laps around the house. Maybe I won a multicoloured pen at bowling. Maybe I bought four Truckles of cheese at Lidl for 99p each. My memory isn’t great, but this helps give each day something to hold onto. Otherwise, it’s easy for life to blur into one long routine. Sometimes you really have to choose to assign meaning or joy.
Today’s highlight? A walk to the beach, where for the first time in a while I took photos just for fun. Just a wooden bridge on Worthing seafront - nothing special most days. But today, it was.
