Gratitude: The Instant Shift
by Michael Feeley
Name one person you are grateful to.
For me, there is Lucio, who helps me with my electrical needs.
What instantly happens to you when you name your person of gratitude?
I’ll tell you what happens to me: my chest opens. The petty irritations dissolve. I’m suddenly present, connected to something larger than my own concerns.
Now you try. Say a name out loud. Notice what shifts.
Gratitude isn’t just polite acknowledgment. It’s recognition of interdependence. When I think of Lucio, I’m reminded that my comfort, my safety, my ability to work—none of it happens alone.
And here’s the beautiful turn: gratitude flows both ways. We’re grateful for others, yes. But we can also hold gratitude for ourselves—for the work we choose, the contributions we hope to make, the ways we show up to make the world a better place.
When we recognize how we’re helped, we’re reminded that we can help. Being grateful for Lucio inspires me to be someone else’s Lucio. I’m grateful I chose to write today. I’m grateful I had that difficult conversation yesterday.
Give. Contribute. Not from obligation, but because you can and want to.
That’s the shift gratitude creates: from isolation to connection, from taking to participating, from existing to mattering.
Thanks – Michael (he, him)
Please share this Daily with your tribes.
This also matters – Be Accurate about Resentment and Gratitude.
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