I’m Human Too

I’m Human Too

The Practice of Gratitude Through Change

We have all heard about how important and impactful gratitude is. It can completely redirect our focus and energy, lifting us out of lower states of mind that sometimes try to take the reins.

But today I want to talk about gratitude from a very human place.

Because I’m human too.

And gratitude doesn’t always come easily when life is asking us to let go of something we once loved about ourselves.

Gratitude for What Is No Longer Here

Lately I have found myself grateful for things I no longer have access to.

Things I once did.

The youth.

The speed.

The agility.

The endurance capacity.

The wiry power.

And all of the other physical attributes that now sit quietly in the rearview mirror of life.

There was also the carefree attitude that comes more naturally when we are younger. Being present and fearless sometimes felt effortless then. As we move into adulthood, responsibilities begin to shape us. The weight of life asks us to carry more.

I am deeply grateful that I once possessed those traits. I was lucky enough to experience them and rely on them. They were gifts.

But moving through midlife, the transition away from them has not always been easy if I’m being honest.

There can be a “crisis of no longer.”

The slow realization that the version of ourselves we once were is quietly fading into memory.

The Morning After the Night

Growth is rarely as romantic as we imagine.

Often, it looks like walking through uncertainty. It looks like questioning. It looks like not knowing exactly why something is changing or what will replace it.

Human nature wants answers. We want to know the purpose while we are in the middle of the process.

But wisdom usually arrives later.

Sometimes the lesson only becomes clear miles down the road, when we look back and realize that what felt like a loss was actually making space for something else.

We don’t always enjoy the journey through growth. Many times it arrives through loss.

But in order to gain something new, we often have to create space first.

A Small Example

In my mid-20s I began to lose my hair.

To be honest, I was devastated.

I tried a few fixes. I attempted to cover spots. I did what many people do when they are trying to hold onto something that clearly wants to move on.

Eventually I realized there was nothing I could do to hide it.

So I accepted it.

I shaved my head.

And here’s the funny part… I don’t miss having hair at all anymore.

In fact, I prefer the shaved head.

The only thing I miss is the relaxed feeling of sitting in the barber chair.

That small experience taught me something profound.

Sometimes what we think is a loss becomes a blessing once we stop fighting it.

The Natural Cycle of Change

None of the “golden day” attributes stay forever.

Not youth.

Not strength.

Not roles.

Not identities.

They all eventually move on so that new versions of ourselves can emerge.

The challenge is that during the transition we often grasp for certainty. We want to know what the next gift will be before we release the old one.

But life doesn’t usually work that way.

Nature doesn’t show the spring bloom while the leaves are still clinging to autumn branches.

First there is letting go.

Then there is space.

Then something new grows.

Learning to Enjoy the Ride

At The Nature Within, I often talk about aligning with the flow of nature.

Nature doesn’t resist its own seasons.

It moves.

Fluidly.

Quietly.

Honestly.

And what I continue to learn is that the path we walk is rarely the exact path we once imagined.

So why not enjoy the ride?

Why not practice gratitude for:

What was.

What is.

And what is about to be.

A Simple Truth

Today I feel grateful.

Grateful for the traits I once had.

Grateful for the lessons that came from watching them change.

Grateful for the unknown chapters that are still unfolding.

I am ready.

I am open.

This is me.

And yes…

I’m human too.

Another Trigger Word

Surrender often sounds like a frightening word.

But surrender doesn’t have to mean defeat.

Sometimes it simply means trusting the natural movement of life.

And when we meet that movement with gratitude instead of resistance, something remarkable happens.

We discover that letting go is not the end of the story.

It is often the doorway to the next version of ourselves.