Gratitude Belongs to the Present, Not Just the Past

Don’t be so concerned about what you could lose you forget to appreciate what you have.

I didn’t realise the effort it takes to be grateful and practice gratitude, I grew up always saying I’m grateful but what does that actually mean beyond sweet words.

Gratitude is a complex emotion sometimes it only exists in hindsight quietly showing up after the moment has passed. Other times it exists in the present opening up your eyes to the beauty of the moment. Occasionally it exists as a promise to the future, pleading with you to cherish and enjoy the moment as it is.

Gratitude is humorous in the sense that it meets you at your lowest as an attempt to pick you up while being a humble reminder as to why you should have never let gratitude go in the first place as you mourn what you once had. It doesn’t do it vindictively and its purpose is not to scold, gratitude is filled with comfort and lessons.

Gratitude gently reminds me to let go and to not be so concerned about what I could lose I forget to appreciate what I have. So often I’ve played out endings to stories before they have even started, I get lost in control, concern and worry and gratitude gently sweeps in asking me to notice, appreciate and love as a priority. Gratitude isn’t demanding nor is it loud it only seeks to show you how precious yet fragile these moments are.

I often thought the enemy of gratitude was loss, but learning about gratitude the enemy is actually entitlement. Loss awakens gratitude, entitlement on the other hand numbs it, it convinces you that what you have is owed to you, and you stop cherishing and instead start demanding.

Loss, in its cruel way, often reignites gratitude but gratitude doesn’t need loss to exist, I think if gratitude could speak it would tell you that it wants to exist in all moments, places and people as opposed to the moments where it has to force you to see what was beautiful once is now gone. Entitlement on the other hand blinds you of all the beauty all together. Entitlement is not a question of deserving or not, it’s a statement of obligation and ownership.

Gratitude has taught me to show up in the present, as imperfect and broken as things or I may be and to pause, to slow down just for long enough to see every passing moment as a gift. To hold love, joy, laughter, care and kindness with both hands, not tightly as if to claim ownership but gently to say thank you for visiting.

Maybe all gratitude ever asks is that we don’t wait for loss to teach us how to cherish, to not be so concerned about the ending of a story before we have even turned the first page, to not be demanding of all things we feel are owed to us and to not let moments and people slip by before saying thank you through words or actions. I think if gratitude could talk it would ask to exist in the present, not as an afterthought with a means to comfort.

Life and all the moments that make up your journey are fragile yet astonishingly beautiful even as imperfect or broken as they may seem. I hope in whatever capacity gratitude visits you, it provides comfort and joy in opening up your world view to see just how precious, delicate and miraculous it all really is. I hope gratitude can stay with you as a trusted friend, nudging and guiding you in the present to say thank you.

With all my love.