Grief and gratitude. These words don’t seem to fit together. But Kelly Buckley, a mom who lost her son, says grieving with gratitude saved her. Read the excerpt from her article:
My younger son Brendan and I agreed that if we could find “one little thing” each day to be thankful for, we would get through this. Each day we would look for simple blessings and I would write about it. On particularly difficult days, I could not even completely inhale because of the physical ache in my chest from the pain of losing my beautiful boy. So I would give thanks that this broken heart of mine continued to beat.
As the days, weeks and months passed, our list of tiny blessings continued to grow, bringing flickers of light and hope along with it. We found we couldn’t just limit it to one little thing any longer. Blessings were sprouting up all over the place. Butterflies, belly laughs with snorts included, fresh strawberries, naps, a letter from Stephen’s friend, birds, chats with my son or a moment of normalcy with my husband.
It did not change the pain of the loss. But it did alleviate some of the suffering. I started to see that all these one little things were actually the big things that really gave meaning to my life. This path of gratitude was healing me, and tethering me to the present moment as I grieved. And in the present moment, I was okay.
When Kelly admits some days it’s hard to find the “one little thing” to be grateful for, her story became real to me. But during those difficult days, she was grateful that her broken heart was still beating.
I love the idea of finding “one little thing” to be grateful for while you’re grieving. Because, as Kelly says, the little things add up and become the big things that give meaning to life!
One bag will go out this week to a woman who is suffering the loss of her marriage. We hope our bag for a boost makes her smile.