Gratitude

I posted this on Instagram, and thought I would include it on here as well.

One of the best things I do every morning is write down things that I'm grateful for. The world sucks right now. Coronavirus is tearing lives apart, the fight against systemic racism in our country is hard but so so necessary, women's rights to our bodily autonomy and basic necessities for many women like birth control are being denied by a government comprised of 77% men at the federal level...and sometimes it's so easy to get overwhelmed by all the work to be done. As a political science major, politics and our country's state is on my mind more often than a lot of people's. So, sometimes, it's important to take a deep breath and recognize the importance of being grateful for the many blessings we DO have. And maybe that sounds silly or naive with all of the very real and incredibly serious things going on. But consciously remembering the things that we are grateful for is a good way to keep our heads up and recognize the good we see in the world as well as the good we are capable of putting out in the world.

I'm going to add to my Instagram caption (the paragraph above) by saying that this in no way deligitimizes (is that a word?) the important issues that we need to be talking about, every day, multiple times a day, and demanding change in. But sometimes seeing how much work has to be done and feeling the weight of it on your own shoulders--the weight of your responsibility to help be the change and demand the change--is disheartening, and exhausting. This daily practice of gratitude is how I personally alleviate some of that weight on myself. It helps me feel refreshed and reinvigorated for the day ahead, ready to be the change I want to see in the world and not become discouraged along the way.