Gratitude
Pain tries to bury you
the kind that holds you hostage
the kind that grips you tight
it threatens to submerge you
until you are ready to resign.
But the heart and mind push back
to break free and let the light in.
In the depths of darkness where
all you want to do is give up
A new stirring arrives to remind you
that it is not all over yet.
Gratitude is a habit and it is
needed more in dark than sunny days.
It is the universe making us aware
that we must count our blessings
When hope is the shore that hasn’t arrived yet
being thankful for what we have
The infinite mercies and blessings
that we are fortunate to experience
Remind us that life is worth living.
So cherish the pluses and eventually
The burdens of life will become lighter
As we move forward holding hope
In one hand and memories in the other .
The poem above is in response to a prompt provided by @imi
The way you talk about pain didn’t feel dramatic, it’s just honest. The kind that doesn’t announce itself loudly, but instead just stays, quietly heavy. And the line about it holding you hostage stayed with me.
I loved how you is didn’t rush out of it like jumping straight to “everything will be okay.” You stayed in that space long enough for the hope to feel earned. Like it didn’t arrive as a solution, but as a small shift inside. And that’s what makes it profound.
And that part about gratitude… it didn’t feel like advice. Sometimes it’s the only thing you can hold onto when nothing else makes sense.
The ending stayed with me. Holding hope in one hand and memories in the other… it feels a bit like walking forward without being fully okay yet, but still choosing to move anyway.
We learn through pain. But what exactly do we need to learn? Stop the self-delusion. Stop separating ourselves from who we really are. We do this without realizing it when we view everything from the perspective of the ego. This brings us more pain.
As you pointed out in your beautiful poem, gratitude changes our perspective. In moments of deep gratitude, we step away from our usual self-centered perspective and see a world of peace, calm, and harmony.
It is only in these moments that we realize what actually matters and what's just... you name it!😉