It's OK If Your Gratitude List Is Simple

Earlier today in a support group I moderate, I asked everyone what they were thankful for today. I loved hearing all of their responses, and I shared my own: Kitties. A roof over my head. Food to eat. I started feeling frustrated with myself because it always seems like I share the same things: Coffee. Kitties. Food to eat. A roof over my head. Video games. A winter without snow. Simple things that had me thinking to myself, “Well, duh. What does that say about you if you’ve got nothing new to be grateful for? Are you so jaded that you can’t find anything to be grateful and happy about other than the basics?”

But gratitude isn’t easy. Gratitude is work, and the truth is, it’s bloody *hard.* Days like today, weeks and months like the last few in my life, have taken a lot out of me. My energy. My health. My sense of safety and well-being. So what does it say about me that I can only think of “the basics” when I’m trying to put together a gratitude list? It says: I’m here. I’m still standing. And not only that, but despite all of the crap that I’m going through, I still have the strength to find something to be grateful for. Something to keep me grounded. It doesn’t have to sound “deep,” it doesn’t have to be eloquent or inspiring to everyone on Facebook. It just has to keep me fighting for another day.