There have been seasons in my life when I could list everything I “didn’t” have in painful detail—a different childhood, more time, more money, a body that never got tired, relationships without rupture. My mind could scan the horizon and find lack like a magnet.

But the older I get, the more I notice how heavy that way of seeing feels in my body. My chest tightens, my breath gets shallow, and the beauty that “is” here blurs into the background.

So these days, when I catch myself grieving what isn’t, I pause.
Hand on heart. Soften my shoulders. One slow breath.

Then I gently turn my attention to what “is” here, right now.
The people I love. The lessons I’ve survived. The horses breathing softly in the pasture. The sky that somehow keeps showing up in new colors every evening. The chance, in this very moment, to choose kindness again.

I’m not pretending the losses don’t matter—they do. I’m just choosing not to live only from the ache of what’s missing. Gratitude doesn’t erase the hard things, but it does make room in my nervous system for hope, creativity, and joy.

If you’d like, take a moment with me now:
What are three things you “already” have that your future self will be so grateful you didn’t overlook today?

Share one below if you feel moved. Let’s practice rejoicing in what’s here, together.

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