Why Gratitude Matters Right Now

Gratitude

I’m sure you’ve heard before the benefits of having a gratitude practice, but if you haven’t, now you have. I’m not going to go into the science behind it, but it’s there if you want to find it. I have one of those brains that can quickly spiral down into a stormy abyss so focusing on what I am thankful for keeps my mind in check.

If you’re trying this for the first time it can feel boring and you might want to drop the practice, but stay with it. Try it for 40 days. See if it changes anything in your mind, in your focus. There’s research that has shown it’s helped people out of depressive and anxious states of being.

I enjoy focusing on small details in my day that I’m grateful for:

-running water

-30 minutes to myself this morning

-comfortable shoes

-a clear nose to breathe through

-food in my fridge

-my daughters head on my chest too many times to count in a day

-the sound of my kids white noise as they sleep quietly

-heat inside as it gets colder outside

All of these things fill my body with a sense of peace and a feeling of being taken care of.

Once I started a jar, some time during the 2020 pandemic, and I started writing little notes with things I was grateful for so I could read them when I was feeling down. I just found this jar the other day and the detailed notes took me back.

It’s easy and understandable if you feel overwhelmed, afraid, helpless, and hopeless right now.

Anytime I go on IG my feed is flooded with babies being ripped from their families, ICE harassing a woman on her way into Walmart questioning if she was born here, if she has paperwork, just because she looks Hispanic, a father having a seizure as his toddler is crying and holding onto him for dear life as agents outside are trying to get in, a preschool teacher being detained at a Dual language school in front of her preschool students even though she has legal working papers.

It’s sick.

It’s corrupt.

It’s unjust.

As usual I don’t have any answers for this abuse of power. I just know how important it is to protect our mental health, be kind to people in our immediate communities, and to focus on any blessings that are here now, however small.

This episode with Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney provided some much needed laughter, hope, and normalized a lot of the anger I’ve been feeling. It’s going to take all of us to do what we can where we can. This is not one persons job. Be kind to yourself if you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. It means you give a damn, you’re paying attention, you care about human rights, and that is a beautiful gift to all of us.

Jimmy Kimmel & Molly Mcnearney: What Really Happened

Love Always,

Danielle Mallett