Last year, Brisbane-based photographer Hailey Bartholomew decided to take a single Polaroid of something she was grateful for, every single day for 365 days (an amazing endeavour, right?). Earlier this year, she snapped her final pic for the project, so I asked her how life post-365 Days of Grateful is treating her.
SF: Your photography project came to an end a few months ago. Has it continued to impact your life?
“Yes, though the project ended, I continue to find that it impacts my life. Actually, a few weeks ago, I noticed I was in a bit of a negative frame of mind (and realised I hadn’t been feeling like this for a while!), so I started to think about all the things I was grateful for … and there were many! I felt so much better after this. Once again, I realised how adopting a more grateful attitude has helped me.”
SF: Why do you think it’s so important to be grateful in our everyday lives?
“I think being grateful in everyday life helps to keep things in the now - right now – rather than ‘when I get that new camera’ or ‘when I finish this course’ or ‘when I am living where I want to be living’. Right now there is so much good in my life. It might be my personality, but I could really spend all my time looking ahead rather than living right now and enjoying what I already have.”
SF: Do you have any advice for someone who might be struggling to find things to be grateful for?
“To begin with, I found being grateful every day a bit hard, and sometimes I was searching, especially if I’d had a bad day. I think the longer I practised this mindset, the easier it became. So I would say stick to it. There’s sometimes the littlest, simplest of things that make you feel special. Also, stop rushing; open your eyes they will pop up! I had things like dark chocolate and tea on a hard day, or ugg boots in the morning; simple parts to life that make life good and remind me how lucky I am.”
Thanks for the interview op Hailey! See her 365 Days of Grateful project on Flikr here.
April
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