I loved this, Deronda! I smiled as I was reading because we came at Amy’s question from such similar places, but from different points in time. I wrote about how gratitude has taught me not to mistake what hurts right now for the entirety of my life, while you’re looking back and asking, “What else was true?” I absolutely LOVE that question. ❤️
This line especially spoke to me: “Gratitude can change which part of the story gets the final word.” Yes! Not because gratitude erases what hurt, or asks us to pretend it wasn’t painful, but because it reminds us that the painful part was rarely the whole story.
And I love your use of "and". I was frightened AND someone showed up. I experienced loss AND there was still love, kindness, beauty, or grace alongside it. Both things get to be true.
Such a beautiful way of looking at what gratitude does to our perception. Thank you so much for sharing this with us this month! ❤️
I really enjoyed this Deronda! I can only imagine how it felt being lost and then to have met such kind strangers who didn’t have to help but chose to that’s most definitely the part I’d chose to focus on!
I also agree with this:
“That matters to me because I do not believe gratitude requires us to rewrite our lives and turn painful experiences into happy ones. There are things that hurt. There are disappointments that remain disappointments. There are losses for which I am never going to be grateful simply because someone tells me I should find the blessing in them.” - We don’t have to be grateful for the pain caused by situations yet we can choose to be grateful they are over or that we survived them, no one wants pain, disappointment and should never be forced to see those experiences as a “blessing” as there are horrendous things that happen to people but the courage to overcome, the shift that can come from the overcoming these are the points I focus on with gratitude in past events that have been tough.
Love this piece from my friend and fellow gratitude junkies member :) Such a great reflection on the different perspectives from which we can look at something, it brings to mind some of my own stories which I could go back and look at from a different angle...thank you!!!
Thank you, C Simone! I'm glad it resonated. I just couldn't write a "it's all in the mindset" piece like I started too! On those days when mindset doesn't quite cut it, sometimes joy and gratitude is just a choice! 😊
You didn’t make the fear disappear just to make gratitude look prettier, Deronda. You were lost and scared, and people were kind anyway. I like that better.
I loved this, Deronda! I smiled as I was reading because we came at Amy’s question from such similar places, but from different points in time. I wrote about how gratitude has taught me not to mistake what hurts right now for the entirety of my life, while you’re looking back and asking, “What else was true?” I absolutely LOVE that question. ❤️
This line especially spoke to me: “Gratitude can change which part of the story gets the final word.” Yes! Not because gratitude erases what hurt, or asks us to pretend it wasn’t painful, but because it reminds us that the painful part was rarely the whole story.
And I love your use of "and". I was frightened AND someone showed up. I experienced loss AND there was still love, kindness, beauty, or grace alongside it. Both things get to be true.
Such a beautiful way of looking at what gratitude does to our perception. Thank you so much for sharing this with us this month! ❤️
I really enjoyed this Deronda! I can only imagine how it felt being lost and then to have met such kind strangers who didn’t have to help but chose to that’s most definitely the part I’d chose to focus on!
I also agree with this:
“That matters to me because I do not believe gratitude requires us to rewrite our lives and turn painful experiences into happy ones. There are things that hurt. There are disappointments that remain disappointments. There are losses for which I am never going to be grateful simply because someone tells me I should find the blessing in them.” - We don’t have to be grateful for the pain caused by situations yet we can choose to be grateful they are over or that we survived them, no one wants pain, disappointment and should never be forced to see those experiences as a “blessing” as there are horrendous things that happen to people but the courage to overcome, the shift that can come from the overcoming these are the points I focus on with gratitude in past events that have been tough.
Wonderful reflective post!
Love this piece from my friend and fellow gratitude junkies member :) Such a great reflection on the different perspectives from which we can look at something, it brings to mind some of my own stories which I could go back and look at from a different angle...thank you!!!
Thank you, C Simone! I'm glad it resonated. I just couldn't write a "it's all in the mindset" piece like I started too! On those days when mindset doesn't quite cut it, sometimes joy and gratitude is just a choice! 😊
You didn’t make the fear disappear just to make gratitude look prettier, Deronda. You were lost and scared, and people were kind anyway. I like that better.