Gratitude Grounding

I think its important to remember and respect the power of forces outside of ourselves and their potential impact on our everyday lives. Tragedies, freak accidents, and simple errors turn people's lives upside down every single day. Unexpected/untimely deaths and series injuries are life changing hardships that bring both physical and spiritual pain to all who share love for those involved. I think it's imperative to be aware of the times we are not suffering from tragedy and honor them with gratitude and positivity.

It is so easy to get wrapped up in the everyday stress of adulthood. Issues and annoyances that have no significance in the grand scheme of things can become overinflated and take up space in our minds as problems big enough to disrupt our peace. Unexpected traffic, bothersome customers, or co-workers, a never ending list of to-dos, a flat tire... these are better problems to have. I know it goes against our instinct but I think taking a moment to step back and see the bigger picture in the midst of dealing with stressors like these can help bring you back down to Earth. Awareness of the fragility of life and how unpredictable each day is can help ground you in times of stress.

Life Is Fragile

Questioning The Traffic

• Was the traffic caused by an accident or is it rush hour?

• Would you be more or less annoyed if it was caused by an accident where people were hurt?

• Would you be grateful to find that its just a busy morning where no one was hurt?

• Would you even consider the possibility that someone could lose their life on one of the routes you take everyday?

• Would the annoyance from traffic take up more space in your mind than the sympathy for those involved in the accident that caused it?

• If there were an accident would you feel sorry for those involved even though you didn't know them or would it have to have been your sister or your child who crashed for you to care?

We forget how easily real tragedy and life changing challenges can befall the lives of us and our loved ones. We become comfortable in our safety and even begin to expect it as the norm - an autopilot privilege. I think its important to slow down and take a step back from our comfortable routines to recognize what a blessing it is to be in your routine. Feel the gratitude of not dealing with disruptive hardships that throw you off of your normal schedule.


No matter where we or our loved ones go, there is an opportunity for gratitude every time we make it there safely.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 43,230 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in the year 2021. Any argument that one may be less exposed to the chance of a vehicle collision due to safe or no driving should know that 7,388 of those victims were people who were just walking...

Tragic Happenstance

Stress is one thing, suffering is another. Mothers, Fathers, Siblings, Grandparents, Aunts, Cousins, Uncles, Friends, Partners... The pain of an unexpected loss sweeps across entire families. One can only imagine the hundreds of thousands of people who were filled with agony for each and every single life that was lost that year, and every year.


So anytime their is a lack of suffering and loss, we must rejoice. Anytime there has been a period of healing and closeness, we must rejoice. Anytime our biggest battles are running late for work just because of traffic, we must rejoice. Every time you or someone you love or care about leaves their home and makes it back safely, you must rejoice. The opportunity for tragedy, hurt, and harm is never scarce. It is God's continued protection that is abundant.

Better Problems to Have

When real hardships occur nothing else matters. The pain and sorrow and feeling of being lost after my grandma passed away was louder than any inconvenience that tried to call itself an issue. None of it mattered. I didn't even have the energy to be irritated at the traffic that made me late to an event. The issues I was having at work faded into the background, my physical insecurities sat down, my lost credit card didn't matter, the cracked screen on my phone meant nothing, the money I wish I had would be useless, the parking ticket left my mind.... all I could feel was overwhelming misery.


It's like all the little stresses, worries and to-dos were pit stops on a road well traveled in a familiar car. But now it felt like I took one too many wrong turns in a rental car I've never been in, in an unfamiliar town and was suddenly hit by trucks on all four sides. Lost and stunned by the impact... In a confused daze... I feel stuck and can't even formulate the idea of making a move; and even if I could try I wouldn't know where to go from here. Life as I knew it was over; and my world was never the same.

Life Altering Pain

Agony can replace annoyance in a heartbeat. I would have taken on every problem I've ever had all over again if it meant bringing my grandma back and healthy. I think we should be grateful for little issues and annoyances since our attention on them implies the absence of despair. Humility and awareness engender gratitude. It is that gratitude that will ground us in times of stress and illuminate the insignificance of inconveniences.

Loving siblings that don't see eye-to-eye would rather argue with their sibling than lose them. I don't mean normal sibling arguing but the kind with pain and malice behind it. Its the idea that they will never lose them that makes them so comfortable with confrontation. We must understand that tomorrow is never promised and that the blessings that make our lives warm, secure, and familiar are priceless and fragile. I think this is a truth that should be kept in the forefront of our hearts and minds so our gratitude can ground us in times of stress and evoke the desire to move with love and hold on to more peace.

More Gratitude, More Peace

With Love,
Earth Deity