Practicing Gratitude

 With the hectic pressure of life, it is only natural to forget to appreciate the things we take for granted. We often lose sight in how blessed we are until we are suddenly hit with some misfortune. Then, in those times we often think how foolish we were for overlooking what we had. 

I’ve met people that swore up and down that daily gratitude practices changed their life. Whether it was gratitude lists, journaling, prayer, or speaking it out load to others… something about the simple act of showing gratitude enhanced everything. 

There was one person I met who wrote gratitude lists everyday and he would text them to his sponsees and sponsor (he was in recovery) and though I was not a recipient, I think about it often. 

I am guilty of overlooking what I have. I struggle with discontent and heartbreak pretty chronically. I love my life and this world, but when you feel empty or carry heartache everyday, it can be hard to truly feel anything as strongly as those. 

Something I have been trying to do is be grateful for my discontent and heartbreak. They motivate me to strive for more and to fall in love with the idea of love. They exemplify a lack that must mean there will be momentous time to discover those things. The best is yet to come you could say. 

I am very grateful for my life. I love my son, my pets, my partner, friends and family. My house has water and heat. My body is functional at the very least, I have my sight to see art and watch tv and my hearing to listen to music and laughter. I am thankful I have the opportunity to write and create content to hopefully help people. And yes, I am grateful for the less desirable things such as my discontent and my heartbreak. 

Before writing this post, I was laying in bed feeling my heart strings pull and snap and for a moment, I wanted to cry, but instead my mind went to gratitude. And here I am, writing about it. 

Finding gratitude in the darkest moments… well that is really worth trying. Maybe all those people were right. 

What are you grateful for?

- Dani 💚💙