Gratitude When It's Rough

What's rough for you right now?

I've been going through a tough time at home.

One of my beloved mentors died a couple days ago.

And, I'm not sleeping well. Again.

I have felt angry, judged, dismissed and abandoned. I've also felt guilty,
ashamed, not worthy of love, and defensive.

Maybe you can relate.

I call this suffering--for short!

The furthest thing from my mind at times like this is gratitude.

But wouldn't you know it?

This is the message I've been getting from Jojopah Nsoroma, a Black woman
who mentors me for liberation and freedom from suffering.

So you could say gratitude is a way for the system to distract me from the
suffering that racism, patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism, etc. cause.

If I'm so busy being grateful, won't I miss the truth?

Let's look at that.

If I'm grateful that the seedlings in my garden are growing, or that my
puppy Jessie wakes me up each morning, then I might miss seeing Covid
racism.

Or maybe if I say thank you to myself for showing up on this planet in this
body with this trauma, I'll forget mass incarceration or the criminal
injustice system.

Hmmmmm....

You try it.

Can you notice something/someone that you are glad exists in your world?

Are you now less committed to social justice?

No, gratitude doesn't make me forget or push aside those realities.

Gratitude actually helps me to feel love, to see good, and to feel valuable.

It's a clean burning fuel for social justice that has much less wear and
tear than anger.

So, to the part of your mind that's saying gratitude is for people whose
privilege protects them from oppression, don't take my word for it.

Just learn from the practice of your life.

My daughter Makeda and I discussed gratitude and justice during our last episode of Get Your Chocolate On. You can watch the replay here.  

For more wisdom about gratitude from my wise friend Jojopah Nsoromah, check out my earlier conversation with her about liberation and self-mastery here.

Peace and love,

Amanda