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I’ve been sitting with this truth lately. We’re often told that gratitude should be enough—that if we’re truly grateful for what we have, we shouldn’t want for anything more. But that’s not how the human heart works.

You can be deeply grateful for your life while still aching for something that hasn’t arrived yet. You can love your present and still dream of a different future. You can hold appreciation in one hand and desire in the other, and neither makes you ungrateful or incomplete. They’re not opposites. They’re companions.

I’m grateful for the relationships that ground me, and I still long for dreams that haven’t manifested yet. I’m thankful for how far I’ve come, and I still reach for where I want to go. I celebrate the friendships that sustain me, while missing the people who are no longer here. This isn’t contradiction—it’s the fullness of being human.

Here’s what I’ve learned: Gratitude doesn’t eliminate desire. It transforms it. When you practice gratitude, you’re not suppressing what you want. You’re changing the energy around it. You move from scarcity—from “I don’t have enough”—to abundance: “Look at what’s already here, and imagine what else is possible.”

A few ways I’m cultivating more gratitude:

Start each morning by naming three specific things you’re grateful for (not just “my health” but “the way sunlight hit my coffee cup this morning”). Write thank-you notes to people who’ve shaped you, even if you never send them. When you catch yourself wanting something, pause and acknowledge what you already have in that area of life. Keep a gratitude journal and revisit it when you’re feeling empty.

Gratitude changes your frequency. It opens doors. When you appreciate what’s present, you signal to the universe—and to yourself—that you’re ready to receive more. Not because you’re desperate, but because you recognize abundance when it shows up.

So yes, I’m grateful. And yes, I’m still longing. Both are welcome here. Both are proof that I’m alive, that I’m paying attention, that my heart is still soft enough to feel it all.

What are you grateful for?

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