GRATITUDE | I realize this topic can be a real tough one for people, but I am not asking you to be grateful for your grief, but rather open a window or door to the practice of gratitude if you are not quite there yet. When you practice gratitude, it helps to remind you of all the good in your life that is still there. A grateful heart is a lighter heart. Share something you are grateful for today.

The concept of gratitude is not my favorite thing after Kade’s death. Which is not a popular opinion in this happiness-, forgiveness-, and gratitude-obsessed culture.

After reading It’s OK that You’re not OK by Megan Devine and after my Compassionate Bereavement Care grief and trauma training, I know that this is alright. Research shows that having gratitude can be beneficial, but that forced gratitude can be problematic.

I appreciate CarlyMarie’s gentle nudge toward gratitude.

Tonight I am grateful for my health and the beautiful area in which I live to experience a color hike like I did today.

I am grateful for my brother, Andy, with whom to have adventures.

And I am grateful that we were on the right trail when we thought we may have gotten on a wrong one, after underestimating the time it would take to complete the loop, and ending up finishing the hike in the dark.