Joane has always believed that you should be grateful for whatever you have. She feels that no matter how down you might feel or how much you focus on what is missing, there is still something in your life to appreciate. She practices yoga and qigong, where breathing, mindfulness, and gratitude are important parts of the routine. A lot of her outlook also comes from the many years she worked as a preschool teacher with very young children.
Joane noticed that young children are very present. They are not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow. They are busy in the sandbox doing exactly what they are doing right then. That simple and childlike way of staying in the moment became part of Joane’s own perspective.
“No matter how down you might feel or how much you focus on what you don’t have, there’s always something to be grateful for.”
~ Joane
Although she already practiced mindfulness, Joane wanted to go a little deeper with gratitude. People often suggested that she get a journal and write down three things she was grateful for every day. But she felt stuck repeatedly listing her family, health, and job. She bought beautiful journals with pretty covers and fun pens. She loved the physical act of writing, but when she sat down to journal, the words seemed kind of flat when she reread them.
While searching online for ways to practice gratitude, she came across the Gratitude app around 2025. She liked that it was on her phone and that she did not necessarily need to write every day. Some of the thought-provoking questions in the app made her think. At times, she would come back to a question later because she needed more time to ponder it. Using journaling prompts gave her a way to look beyond the same few things she usually wrote about.
“I have always appreciated what I have, but practicing gratitude has helped me focus even more on the small things I’m grateful for.”
~ Joane
Joane was also curious about AI. She had heard people say that it would take over the world and put people out of jobs. When a coworker mentioned using AI for a test, Joane felt that would be cheating and told them they were smart enough to complete it on their own. Still, she wanted to understand AI for herself. She opened ChatGPT and began with simple questions about what it was and what it could do. Later, she started entering some of her thoughts and feelings. Once, she typed in the word “joy” to see what would come up and where the rabbit hole would take her. She also used it to work through thoughts that later became a heartfelt poem and to think through a situation at work.
Joane described the poem as healing and chose to submit it as her gratitude story. She was surprised that she had written about being grateful for AI because it had seemed like an odd thing to appreciate. She does not believe people have to use the technology if they do not like it. For her, it is another way to explore her thoughts.
“Taking a moment to step back and think is something simple you can do every day, even several times a day. For me, it has been very healing.”
~ Joane
For Joane, gratitude means taking the time to be in the moment. It is easy to get caught up in work, family, and all the things that need to be done. When that happens, she takes a breath and thinks about what she has mentally, physically, and spiritually. This makes everything else on the outside seem less important.
Joane describes herself as calm and mellow, but she has also always been shy and can become tongue-tied when someone confronts her. Sometimes she freezes and cannot find the words she wants to say. Practicing mindfulness has helped her recognize that it is okay to step back to organize her thoughts and look at the situation from a different perspective.
Her advice is to take the time to practice gratitude. At work, Joane sometimes steps outside for five minutes and thinks about a couple of things she appreciates. It is a simple habit she can return to anywhere, even several times a day. Watching young children give their full attention to whatever they are doing has stayed with her over the years. She does not rush every question or expect herself to have an answer right away. When she needs to, she steps back and gives herself a few minutes. For Joane, that is often enough to return to what is in front of her.
This is Joane’s story, shared in her own words and curated with care to preserve its truest form. I’d love to hear your story too. Write to me at preeti@gratefulness.me 💌
Every story is a reminder to notice the good that already exists.
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