My Gratitude Journey—Isn’t Easy — But It Worth

My gratitude journey

Here I am today, in this space, and I want to share my journey with you.

In my life, I have experienced difficult seasons. There was a time in my life when gratitude felt really hard.
Not because I didn’t believe in it — but because life had taken so much that words like thankful felt far away. Almost uncomfortable. But I kept my practice even in hard moments when I didn’t feel it.

I wasn’t looking for inspiration back then. I was just trying to keep going and straining my faith.

I was raising children on my own, carrying a lot of responsibility, after losing my life partner. Grief has a way of changing everything — how we think, how we feel, how we move through the world. I wasn’t searching for big answers. I was searching for something that could help me stay grounded and present in the middle of it all.

At first, gratitude didn’t look anything like what I had read, heard, or imagined about it.

It wasn’t happiness.
It wasn’t pretending things were okay.
It definitely wasn’t forcing myself to “stay positive.”

For me, gratitude became my anchor in hard times, gave me hope, and helped me to trust even when I didn’t see a way out. And years later, I am here to tell you this: The practice of gratitude is the door to transforming and rebuilding a meaningful life.

An easy way to start practicing gratitude is with a challenge and creating a gratitude habit. You can start with 5 minutes daily. Visit our Resources and find it. Here

Gratitude became quieter

Some days, it was just noticing one small thing that helped me get through the day. Other days, it was choosing not to shut my heart down, even when that felt like the easiest thing to do. Little by little, gratitude became a way of staying connected to life — instead of closing myself off from it.

What I learned over time is this:
Gratitude doesn’t erase pain. It doesn’t explain loss. It doesn’t make hard things disappear.

But it does help us stay open.

And sometimes, staying open is everything.

Gratitude didn’t change my circumstances overnight.

What it gave me was steadiness. It helped me keep my feet on the ground when everything felt uncertain. It gave me a way to stay connected to meaning — even when I didn’t understand what was happening or why.

Eventually, gratitude stopped being something I tried to feel and became something I practiced, not perfectly, not consistently, just honestly.

And that’s what this space is really about.

If you’re here and life feels heavy right now — if you’re grieving, rebuilding, or just tired of trying to be strong all the time — I want you to know something:

You don’t have to be grateful for everything.
You don’t have to rush your healing.
You don’t have to have clarity figured out.

Gratitude can start very small.

• It might be acknowledging that you’re still here.
• It might be noticing one moment that didn’t break you
• It might simply be allowing yourself to soften, even for a moment.

That counts.

For me, gratitude became the path that helped me live with an open heart — even after loss. And this blog exists for anyone who is walking a similar road: seeking meaning, growth, and grounding — not by denying pain, but by meeting life honestly.

Gratitude isn’t easy.
But sometimes, it’s what carries us forward.

Here is an invitation

Before the day ends, you might ask yourself:
What helped me stay open today?

Whatever comes to mind — let that be enough.

You might simply notice one thing that helped you stay here today.
Let that be enough.

.