“To keep a warm heart in winter is the real victory.”
— Marty Rubin
Gratitude, like many things, is best in moderation— a little bit at a time, rather than all at once. Though Thanksgiving is over, the start of the winter holiday season is a perfect time to keep up that thankful spirit and remind ourselves of what we have to be grateful for. Practicing daily gratitude feels like giving yourself a warm hug and can help cultivate inner peace. Here is what I am feeling especially grateful for at the start of the winter months!
1. Reconnecting with old friends
Recently, I was able to reconnect with some friends from my childhood. Reconnecting with old friends must be one of the warmest, coziest feelings. We were kids together, and now we are young adults together just trying to navigate the obstacles of adulthood. It is also a nice reminder that growth doesn’t always come with loss— it can come with reconciliation, too.
2. My Christmas tree
Be warned: I am fully under the influence of the Christmas spirit as I am writing this. It truly is the best time of year— a time to slow down, stop everything, and celebrate joy (and my birthday!). Putting up my Christmas tree— always a real one, and always from the family Christmas tree farm— feels like the official start to this season of joy.
3. Quitting therapy
When I started my trauma recovery journey 5 years ago, I feared I would be in therapy forever with the amount and severity of the traumas I was dealing with. The idea of being in therapy “forever” felt especially unfair to me as a psychiatric survivor and psychiatric abolitionist. It was hard to reconcile going to, and thus enabling, therapy when one of the main things I am working toward is completely dismantling the mental health industrial complex, even with the understanding it would render many people I know out of a job completely— I still want it. In the last few months, my therapist has been on maternity leave and I have found greater healing through other avenues, like acupuncture, yoga nidra, and simply surrounding myself with some emotionally mature, considerate, supportive people. To my surprise, I actually feel more confident, grounded, safe, and emotionally held and supported by myself without therapy. Realizing I no longer need therapy or feel like I am struggling with trauma symptoms is a huge weight off my shoulders, and it is a weight I have been struggling to lift for the majority of my life— considering I have also been in traumatizing and abusive therapy for the majority of my life, it begs the question if the weight on my shoulders was therapy itself. I have realized that no amount of therapy can fix the fact that we live in a capitalistic hellscape, no amount of therapy will stop me from getting sexually harassed by the volunteers at the food pantry or the guy walking towards me on my street or my married neighbor, and no amount of therapy will prevent people from driving recklessly and putting other drivers’ lives at risk due to their emotional dysregulation and illusion of urgency. I used to think I had a problem and needed therapy because I struggled to tolerate those dangers because therapy taught me that. I always suspected that being unable and unwilling to tolerate those things is actually the healthiest response one could have, and now I know for certain I was right. So, bye for now, therapy— may we meet again during your dismantling. It’s not personal, it’s just progress.
4. Breakup albums
I’ve been feasting on Lily Allen’s West End Girl, Tate Mcrae’s new deluxe album version, and Kelsea Ballerini’s Mount Pleasant EP. Nothing hits quite the same as a reflective, empowered woman talking her shit while putting the full spectrum of human emotions on display unapologetically— it is literally my kryptonite.
heard+felt is a 100% reader-supported publication. to fuel my continued work, consider leaving me a tip on “buy me a coffee”
5. Acupuncture
This one just might be on every gratitude list from here on out, because that is how much I love acupuncture. There is a reason it’s been around for centuries— because it works. I love acupuncture for everything from mental stress to body tension and nerve pain to digestive problems. It just might be the closest thing we have to a magic cure-all, in my opinion.
What’s your favorite way to practice and cultivate gratitude in your life? Let’s start a master list in the comments!!
heard+felt is a 100% reader-supported publication. to fuel my continued work, consider leaving me a tip on “buy me a coffee”
Follow me on Substack @annaekeenan!
You may also like…
- Dear Readers…
- Playlist to Build Confidence and Love Yourself
- Trauma Recovery Journals: August 12th, 2022
- The Problem with Idolizing Robert Irwin
- Top 5 Things on My Gratitude List Lately
Leave a Reply