We Are Grateful

Gratitude might be hard to find right now, which means it is more important than ever to practice finding it. In the face of challenge or hardship, being thankful can seem like an abstract practice, like something we are reaching for but can’t find, or something far away in the horizon. And the world in 2020 is certainly full of challenges. Yet, every moment presents an opportunity to be thankful, from our next breath, or the next person we find ourselves in a conversation with, the next meal we have, and so on.

Last night, I was tucking my daughter into bed and she fell asleep while holding my hand. There was so much warmth in her hands and I found myself being so grateful to hold her small fingers within the palm of mine. I started to wonder about all the small things that fit in the palm of my hand that actually meant the world to me. To help myself cultivate gratitude, I made a mental list of things to be thankful for whether they were practical, emotional, mundane, symbolic, or spiritual. My evening exhale under the blanket, my Burt’s Bees lip balm, my wedding ring, a hair clip, and of course, my daughter’s hand holding mine.

At times, all you need to do to find gratitude is start by looking at what’s in your hands. Then, finding the gratitude in your heart becomes much easier. And of course, practicing the art of gratitude with others is a process of thanks in of itself – here are some from our community to yours.