Gratitude, Memories & the Adventures Still Waiting ✈️

About a year ago, I had to clean out my old garage — the one that had quietly been collecting dust and holding memories for more than ten years. I pulled out boxes I hadn’t opened in a decade, the sort of things you forget you even own until the moment you’re holding them again.

There were photos I hadn’t seen in forever, journals from all the different versions of Grace, and things I’d packed away because I was about to become a housesitter and live out of two suitcases. Some of it was confronting — images of my engagement and my ex. Some of it was comforting, old photos of adventures. And some of it… well, it reminded me of the absolute beauty that has lived inside the ordinary moments of my life. ✨

Then, this week, I went to a funeral for one of the beautiful women who shaped me during my teens and early twenties — Mumma Jenny, Aunty Jenny. I hadn’t seen her in around ten years, and I felt the ache of that. I saw people I adore and are so grateful for, people who were part of a season that shaped me… but who aren’t in my world now.

And in that moment, sitting quietly in a church full of familiar faces, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the role she played in my life — the steadiness, the care, the famous chocolate cakes for my birthdays, the way she held space for me and loved me. 🤍

Those two experiences — cleaning out the garage and saying goodbye to someone who mattered so deeply — nudged me back into writing this blog.

They took me to some old planning systems I used long before the NFP Planner existed.

The pages that inspired my Planner 📓

I found my old planning workbooks from 2012 and 2013.

One of them I’d completed in full — all eighty-something pages.
The next year… not so much. I’d started strong, but then we had a big family loss and everything stopped for a season.

That’s life, isn’t it?
Some years we do the thing.
Some years we just… survive.
And both are valid.

Two years after those journals stopped, the NFP Planner was born.

Tucked inside the completed one was a list I’d completely forgotten about — 100 things to do in a year.

Some silly.
Some brave.
Some kind.
Some big.
Some tiny.

Things like:

• Do Auslan 1 & 2 — (Auslan 1: tick)
• Read 10 books — tick
• Get a blog published — tick
• Eat something gross — absolutely not ticked
• Kiss an Italian — tick 🇮🇹
• Win an award — tick
• Run 5klm - run spelt backwards is nur, that's a nur from me
• Go to a comedy show — tick
• Buy a meal for a stranger — tick

What made me smile most wasn’t the ticks… it was the mixture.

Things for me.
Things for others.
Things that stretched me.
Things that made me laugh.

And the beautiful part? Even though I didn’t do them all that year, over the past decade I could tick off even more. Life quietly delivered some of them while I wasn’t looking. 🌿

Why pen to paper still matters ✍️

Finding those pages reminded me of something powerful:

When we write things down, we’re not just getting organised — we’re giving our future self a map back to who we were, what mattered, and what lit us up.

It’s proof we’ve lived.
Proof we’ve grown.
Proof we’ve cared.

Research consistently shows that writing things down — whether reflections, goals, gratitude, or intentions — helps regulate the nervous system, strengthens memory, increases motivation, and improves emotional wellbeing.

When we write, we’re not just storing information…
We’re integrating our life.

The research behind gratitude (in simple human words) 🌼

Gratitude isn’t just a ‘nice idea’. It’s biologically powerful.

Studies from UC Davis, Harvard, and the Greater Good Science Centre show that practising gratitude:

• lowers stress hormones like cortisol
• strengthens the immune system
• improves sleep
• increases resilience to uncertainty and change
• boosts serotonin and dopamine
• reduces rumination and anxiety
• increases our capacity for connection and compassion

In short: gratitude literally rewires the brain toward steadiness, hope, and a sense of “I can handle what’s in front of me.”

One of my favourite quotes:
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” — Anonymous

And it really does.

Why creating things to look forward to helps us cope 🎈

Psychologists call it anticipatory wellbeing.

It simply means:
Having something to look forward to — even something small — increases happiness right now.

Research shows that future-focused joy helps:

• reduce feelings of boredom, numbness, and stagnation
• increase motivation and energy
• improve emotional regulation
  
• support recovery from stress
  
• create a sense of agency (“I can shape my life”)

And it doesn’t have to be big. It can be:
a new recipe
a beach walk
a book you’ve been saving
a day trip
a class
a silly challenge
a moment of bravery

Small anticipation can shift the whole emotional tone of a week.

Creating a safe inner world when the outer world feels heavy 🌙

Let’s be honest: the world feels a bit loud, chaotic, and destructive at the moment. I’m not saying we ignore it — but one thing I practise daily is remembering the difference between out there and here.

If you can create a pocket of space that feels safe — your bed, a corner of your home, the beach, a park, your car, nature — you give your nervous system a chance to breathe.

In those moments, the world doesn’t feel like it’s pressing in quite so tightly.
And you can meet life with more calm, more clarity, and more steadiness.

To support you… I’ve created a new printable 📄✨

It’s a simple sheet you can download and pop inside your diary, planner, or on your wall.

It includes:
• 100 spaces for gratitude
• 100 spots to create your own adventure or “things to look forward to” list

It’s gentle, practical, and a beautiful way to reconnect with the parts of yourself you might have misplaced along the way.  You can DOWNLOAD HERE

A final quote for the season you might be in 💛

“Action moves us from boredom to curiosity, from curiosity to possibility, and from possibility to appreciation.” — Grace McLean

I am grateful for you!