Gratitude

Me in the sea! Portugal, Oct. 2026

Lately I’ve started keeping a gratitude journal. I’ve practised gratitude for years — usually at the end of a yoga practice or sometimes before going to sleep. I’d take a moment to think of one thing I felt grateful for.

It always gave me a bit of perspective. Yes, there is plenty to complain about. There are always things to deal with, things that are irritating, difficult or just plain awful but there is also so much to be grateful for.

My health. My family. My home. The sunshine. A good cup of coffee. A laugh with friends.

The gratitude journal has made me much more aware of these things. Food features quite heavily. Some days it’s verging on a food diary! But I’ll take that over focusing on the fact that I wouldn't mind being a few pounds lighter — something I can very easily get hung up on.

I love this quote from David Whyte:

“Gratitude is not a passive response to something we have been given. Gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.”

I think that’s what has changed for me. It’s not just about sitting down at the end of the day and thinking of something I’m grateful for. I’m becoming more aware in a lovely moment -

"This is lovely. This is something to be grateful for."

I had lots of those moments last weekend when I was away with friends. One of them was this swim (pictured above), just before sunset. Pure bliss — and I knew it.

And I think that’s the real value of practising gratitude for me. It doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine when it isn’t. Some stuff sucks. Some things are awful. Some are incredibly irritating and still have to be dealt with. Gratitude doesn’t make those things disappear. It just helps me remember that they are not the whole story.

I’m not pretending everything is perfect but I’m acknowledging the little things that are.

Caragh