Find Gratitude in the Chaos

Be grateful. Have faith. Live Oola.

 

This is the central tenet of Oola, something I’ve tried to follow for the last several years, even more so over the last year as a Certified Oola Life Coach.

 

As a part of Oola, I’ve listened to Dr. Dave, one of the authors of the book, talk about his journey with gratitude, both through his own low points and through his nephew’s illness. He talks about how he learned to be grateful for some of the most difficult events and situations of his life.

 

While I’ve always tried to practice and emulate this same practice of gratitude, it didn’t really hit home for me until the events of this last year unfolded for my family.

 

I’ve felt like I haven’t really slowed down since my little man was born last August. Everything has just been going and going and going and I’ve been trying to keep up and stay on top of things. Crisis after crisis comes up, and I keep going.

 

I kept going through the birth of my son in the middle of COVID. I kept going through my husband having surgery, then having the same surgery again months later because things were missed the first time around. I kept going through various health-related incidents, both planned and emergencies, with my parents and grandfather. I kept going through all of this while also working on healing my own chronic illness.

 

And I’m grateful for all of it. I’m grateful for all the overwhelm all these scenarios caused, all the anxiety and stress that I had to work through. I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, for the clarity that’s come from all of this. I’m grateful that my family is still here, back to being (mostly) healthy.

 

I’m grateful that I’m still here.

 

Had all of this happened two or three years ago, I’m not sure how well I would’ve handled it. I was not in a good place back then, dealing with my own health crises, both physical and mental, including suicidal ideations. I’m grateful that the events of this last year happened when they did, not three years ago.

 

I have the tools I need to tackle the overwhelm and the anxiety and the stress. I’ve been able to stay on solid ground, away from the brink, during this last year. And I’m so grateful for that.

 

What are you grateful for today? How can you find gratitude in all the chaos, in all the anxiety, in all the overwhelm? Do you have the tools you need to both stay on solid ground and be grateful for what has happened?

 

If not, I’d love to help you find the tools you need. Come join our community of other weird and nerdy mamas finding balance and finding gratitude. We’d love to have you.