Practicing gratitude when you're struggling can feel impossible. How can you be grateful when everything feels heavy and difficult?
I've learned that gratitude isn't about denying pain or pretending everything is perfect. It's about finding small moments of light, even in darkness.
A warm cup of tea. A comfortable bed. A friend who listens. These things might seem small, but they're real, and they matter.
Gratitude practice doesn't have to be grand. It can be as simple as writing down one thing you're grateful for each day. Over time, this practice shifts your perspective, helping you notice the good alongside the difficult.
I've found that gratitude and struggle can coexist. You can be grateful for your support system while acknowledging how hard things are. You can appreciate small comforts while feeling the weight of larger challenges.
This practice has taught me that life is complex—full of both pain and beauty, struggle and grace. Gratitude helps me hold both, to see the full picture, not just the darkness.
On my hardest days, I look for just one thing to be grateful for. Sometimes it's the fact that I made it through the day. Sometimes it's a moment of peace. Sometimes it's simply being alive.
Gratitude doesn't fix everything, but it adds perspective. It reminds us that even in struggle, there are things worth noticing, worth appreciating, worth holding onto.