Gratitude Does the Heart Good

When I first pitched this idea of gratitude to myself, my first reaction was “really? What do I have to be grateful for right now? Everything kinda sucks…”

But no matter what’s happening in the world, Thanksgiving is always going to happen. While this year has been a hellish (one to say the very least), this is exactly why gratitude is important right now. Not just for me, but for all of us. We can acknowledge that things aren’t exactly peachy and still see what good we have in our lives. I have a bad habit of not wanting to see what good is present, so today is an excellent reminder to pause and reflect.

So here I am, recognizing what I can be grateful for. I encourage you to do the same. List it out, write about it, or just go over it in your head while you help mom peel potatoes. Just take some time to realize what you’re grateful for. It’ll do your heart some good.

I, Mallory Grimm, am grateful for:

My Life

There have been many points during this year that I wished I wasn’t alive. The fact that I am still here, living and breathing, is almost a miracle. There were multiple instances of me almost giving up, but despite all of that, there’s still breath in my lungs. At the end of the day, I want to be here. There’s so much I still need to experience, people who need me in their lives, and so much to live for. While I’m still struggling a lot, I’m grateful that my story hasn’t ended.

The People I Love

I feel so insanely lucky for having some awesome people that I get to interact with. My family has had my back. My friends are the most loving and kind souls, and I feel so privileged that I get to call them my friends. My sweet boyfriend loves me unconditionally, even on my bad days where I would have given up on me, but he hasn’t. Professors who have seen my potential when I couldn’t see it in myself. My therapist who has made me realize that I am in fact not insane, and has been such a huge help in my personal journey. Without these people, I most likely would not have made it this far. Thank you all for all you’ve done for me.

My Health

With this pandemic, I have been fortunate to not have any COVID diagnosis, either for myself or my family. I know many others have not been so lucky. I never would have thought I’d be living during a global health crisis in my twenties, but sometimes life just likes to make things spicy on us.

The Bare Necessities

Aka being able to go to school, have a roof over my head, food to eat, and a job. Things I take for granted, that I should NEVER take for granted in this cruel cruel world. How can you forget those?

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

Back to COVID, I’m seriously so thankful for all our doctors, nurses, first responders, and scientists researching how to defeat this virus. While I have not had COVID, I know many who have, and without them, many would not be alive. Every death from this is tragic, but I’m thankful that there are survivors out there. Also, listen to science y’all :)

One more time for emphasis, MY LIFE!!

To further solidify my point, I really am thankful to be alive. The pain will always be there, but life is still wonderful, even in spite of all the pain. It’s such a scary place to be, where you just want all that pain to stop and you only see one way out. But I’m still here, and that’s something to be grateful for. I’m slowly starting to realize that it’s important for me to be here.

There! GRATITUDE! Like I said, it doesn’t feel like I have much to be grateful for, but I found it anyways. I encourage you to do the same. It makes your heart feel good.

Happy Thanksgiving, be safe and have gratitude today.