Finding gratitude both during and after loss has been a game changer for me. In fact, it made such an impact that I continue to practice gratitude every single day using the wonderful Gratitude App.
After losing both parents, I realised that finding gratitude following any traumatic event does not mean I needed to face each day full of positivity and ignore the grief and emotions associated with loss. It was about working with the feelings I had and even being grateful for those. Grief is a natural process.
Practising gratitude during grief helped me to find a place where I could reconnect with the joys of life after loss and explore the possibilities that were open to me for rebuilding my life.
I became interested in the scientifically proven benefits of practising gratitude and the impact it has on resilience during difficult times.
I often reflect on the three things I am grateful for after loss:
1. Grateful that I lost myself. Yes, this felt messy and uncomfortable at the time. After losing my parents, I had no idea who I was anymore or what I wanted from life. But being lost was a sign that I was on my way to finding a different version of myself.
2. Grateful that I lost my job. Losing my career of 13 years, the thing I thought I always wanted, helped me realise it was not what made me happy. Losing my job after all that other loss nudged me into rediscovering my life and starting to live on purpose.
3. Grateful I said goodbye to the things and people that did not serve me. Acknowledging this meant I could let go of anything that was weighing me down, including my own thoughts. Because of this, I have been able to grow into a better version of myself, the version I was meant to be, not what others wanted me to be.
After discovering the app by accident in an app store search, I found a way that felt simple and easy to lean into gratitude on a daily basis. I loved the simplicity, accessibility and ease of the app.
It is lovely to see how the app is evolving as I continue to take a few moments each day to focus on all that I have rather than complain about all the things I think I deserve or wish I had. This remains an important part of my wellbeing, and even though grief never completely goes away, gratitude is a reminder for myself and my clients that there is life after loss.
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