By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Medfield Public Library (MPL) loves to host events that connect patrons to the world around them. One of its annual events is creating gratitude journals for the coming year, setting patrons up for a year of reflection and manifestation.
Bri Orzane runs the program and helps participants set up the journals. This program started during the pandemic as take-home kits while the library was closed. The first round of gratitude journals were to help people realize that there was still good left in the world when everything was scary and overwhelming. Now the tradition continues to help everyone reflect and find the good things, in a less scary world.
Everyone was given the pages of the book, a card-stock cover, waxed thread and endless decorating supplies. Orzane did all of the hard work, organizing all of the sheets and setting up all of the supplies. The first step was folding off the sheets in half and stacking them in proper order to be chronological. This was the longest step of the night, afterwards, patrons got to work decorating their journals.
Everything from stickers, markers, magazine clippings, scrapbook paper and more was offered for decorating. Some people chose to add blank pages for extra reflection space while others packed in as much color as possible. Each book quickly became completely customized and tailored to each person. The final step was to bind the book, poking two holes through the entire stack and using a waxed thread to keep it together.
Gratitude is one small way people can bring more reflection and awareness to their lives. Each day folks will sit down with their journals and write one or two sentences about what they are grateful for, which can help to invite more positivity into their lives. Daily reflections can also help to improve mental health and keep people in tune with their emotions.
