Tag: gratitude

Thankful…Still

Friday, November 28, 2025

The day after Thanksgiving always feels like a quiet pause to me—a soft in-between moment, when the holiday glow hasn’t yet faded, though the world is slowly retilting toward ordinary life. This morning, as I stepped out into the crisp air to feed my animals, I felt a sudden, familiar tug of gratitude. It was rising up, yet again—surprising me—not because I didn’t feel unthankful. It was reassuring to know that I’m still thankful, beyond Thanksgiving-thankfulness. I’m comforted that simple gratitude stays alive in me—it’s the opposite of a simultaneous oppressive sense of living in a larger world that increasingly feels unpredictable.

It’s reassuring that I am carrying a deep sense of optimism—stubborn, maybe, but steady. And yet, like everyone else, I’m not immune to the fears that come with living in this era. National and international politics grow more erratic by the day. Frightening outbursts from stressed or unstable individuals appear with little warning. The world is saturated with weaponry capable of unthinkable harm. And then there’s the oldest fear of all: the mistrust or dislike of those who look, believe, or live differently than we do.

All those exist. And at the very same time, so does my small acreage. My few animals. Their gentle needs. Their steady rhythms. Those are humbler demands of daily life, asking only for care and presence. Those pull me back, from the broader and more alarming world, into the close-at-hand—the near, familiar, and embraceable.

I’m struck, too, by knowing that this tension between the “large and terrifying” and the “small and meaningful” is nothing new. Human beings have lived inside this duality for as long as there has been history. Ancient communities survived droughts, wars, invasions, plagues—yet they also tended goats, built fires, baked bread, raised children, and cherished simple comforts. They, too, woke each morning into a balancing between danger and devotion.

What comforts me is knowing that the near-at-hand, like my little acreage, has always offered refuge. Even when the world has tilted toward chaos, everyday life has provided continuity. And maybe why gratitude feels so alive in me today—is because of its roots in the immediate, the tangible, the living. A warm animal’s breath, steaming in the cold. The sounds of wings in a low, wintry sky. The follow-on, small task that needs doing.

Still, I can’t help wondering what tomorrow might look like. Our medical and technological advances seem to press forward at astonishing speeds. We’re living in an age of breakthroughs—diseases treated more effectively, bodies and minds understood more deeply, tools that allow us to connect, to create, and even to imagine futures that once belonged only to science fiction.

What might it mean when technology and medicine evolve even further? When we understand the human brain with new clarity? When we treat illness with methods we can’t yet envision? When systems become smarter, perhaps even gentler?

Might our fears shrink in proportion to our capabilities? Or will the same old human conflicts require the same old human responses—patience, connection, compassion, and community?

I don’t know the answers. But I do sense that feelings of gratitude, oddly enough, are among the most forward-looking emotions. Gratitude that anchors us to the present while giving us courage for what’s ahead.

And on this day after Thanksgiving, that feels like enough.

— Diana

Mind Full

Thursday, May 09, 2024

A PBS documentary focusing on human memory suggests that truth and reality, seen through the filter of our memories, are not objective facts but are subjective, interpreted realities. Memory research shows that our brains interpret the past. We tend to correct ourselves, add bits and pieces, and delete uncomplimentary or disturbing recollections. Essentially, our brains sweep, dust, and tidy things up.

The documentary included interviews with Lisa Genova, a trained neurophysiologist and best-selling author. She supported the documentary’s points that memory isn’t accurate but interprets the past. She also shifted a bit by asking, “Do many of us spend time practicing gratitude?”

Genova’s writings often make me pause to consider and research the topics she presents. The question about practicing gratitude made me wonder: Do I actually practice gratitude, and if so how? My cloudy memory on this topic had me ask basic questions: What is “practicing gratitude,” and how does one do that?

I gather there are gratitude exercises for training a brain to focus on the positive aspects of life, whether they’re big or small. Gratitude exercises can be a learned skill–like strengthening a particular muscle. Over time, consistently practicing gratitude develops an appreciation mindset that gradually becomes a natural behavior.

Wishing to “appreciate gratitude” means learning how to notice “good things” more readily and preserve them.

Research teaches ways of learning how to focus on gratitude. That might start with a daily gratitude list of 2-3 things and continue by learning to explore what resonates. Maybe by creating a daily gratitude journal, taking walks, or learning how to meditate. A caution is to avoid being grateful for obvious things, like health. Instead, to reflect on specific things, really appreciated–like a good night’s sleep or being able to exercise.

In time, a learner will understand that feeling gratitude goes hand-in-glove with being mindful. Mindfulness is a learned skill about being attentive in present moments and recognizing positive experiences. Appreciation is another learned skill about knowing how to save and savor moments of positive experiences.

Dear Friends: I enjoy thoughts about practicing mindfulness and appreciation. Diana