When the world feels chaotic—when grief, uncertainty, or heaviness settles into your body—gratitude can feel distant. Yet these are often the very moments when giving thanks becomes a steadying force. Naming what we’re grateful for can’t erase hardship, but it can anchor us. It reminds us what is good and what is possible, even the hardest seasons.

Gratitude, from the Latin gratus—thankful, pleasing—is a multidimensional experience. At its core, it’s an appreciation for what’s valuable and meaningful to you. It shows up as a virtue, a pleasure, an emotion, and a habit: being thankful for an act of kindness, feeling the lift that comes from noticing what’s good in your life, and practicing that awareness over time. Gratitude offers social, physiological, and neurological benefits. And thank goodness for thankfulness: cultivating a gratitude practice, much like exercising regularly, strengthens your capacity to feel and express gratitude more often.

Psychologically, expressing gratitude during uncertainty supports emotional regulation. It quiets the nervous system, eases stress, and gently shifts the mind’s focus from fear toward connection. Research shows that naming what we’re grateful for activates brain regions linked to resilience and peace. Gratitude offers balance when everything around us feels imbalanced. 

For Black folk, this practice lives deep in our collective memory. Gratitude has long been a survival skill—carried through the Middle Passage, whispered through enslavement, soulfully sung in spirituals, and shared across kitchen tables during the hardest seasons of our history across our diaspora. Our ancestors found ways to give thanks in the midst of unthinkable cruelty and constraint. Gratitude was a declaration of dignity and humanity in a world determined to deny both.

That legacy continues. Gratitude is a reminder of the strength, creativity, and perseverance that have allowed Black communities to endure, shine, build and love fiercely. It invites us to notice and name what sustains us: our people, our resilience, our joy.

In today’s climate of political conflict, racial assault and social upheaval, gratitude serves as a balm for the mind and spirit. It reconnects us to our purpose. It bolsters mental wellness by offering a counterweight to fear and fatigue. In the middle of the storm, gratitude helps us hold fast to light—whatever force keeps us centered and grounded.

If you’re looking to deepen your gratitude practice, here are three simple ways to start:

1. Begin your morning with acknowledgments.
Before reaching for your phone, pause and name three things you’re grateful for—big or small. Let your list be honest, not perfect.

2. Share appreciation with someone.
Offer thanks intentionally. A text, a call, or a handwritten note (an especially precious treat in this age of digital correspondence) builds connection and amplifies the emotional benefits of gratitude.

3. Notice what nourishes you throughout the day.
Pause whenever something brings you comfort—sunlight through a window, a warm (or cold) drink, a moment of laughter, a welcome, familiar face—and let yourself fully take it in.

Even in upheaval, gratitude has a way of widening our view—quietly steadying us when life feels unmoored.

It may seem counterintuitive, but gratitude can expand—even steady us—in chaos. It offers a way to stay rooted in hope, connected to our communities, and aligned with the fortitude of those who came before. 

Journaling Prompt: 

“What’s Sustaining Me Right Now?”

Take five to seven minutes to reflect on the people, places, practices, or experiences that are helping you to stay steady in this season. Make a list, aiming for at least 25, writing  freely without editing yourself. Repeating an entry is OK. 

When you’re done, take another minute to read what you wrote, noticing what feelings and physical sensations surface as you read your writing. Notice any trends, surprises or revelations and consider any changes you might like to make as a result of your writing. Take another few minutes to write about that. 

Each year as Thanksgiving approaches, we hear a lot about gratitude – expressing thankfulness for the food we will eat, our loved ones, our health. Our holiday rituals may have become routine and may even seem rote or superficial - especially against a backdrop of wars and distress in some parts of the world. The real history of Thanksgiving may also affect how we feel about this tradition.

Yet the concept of gratitude has value beyond one day or one month during the year. The holiday gives us the opportunity to think about gratitude as a mindset and a practice – a form of self-care. When we are genuinely grateful we are recognizing and acknowledging what we have instead of what we lack and demonstrating appreciation for all the good in our lives. Think of gratitude is a wellness practice that builds our resilience.

Research on gratitude suggests it can make us feel more positive emotions, help us cope with adversity, and even improve our health and relationships. In one study, people who wrote a few sentences each week about things they were grateful for were more optimistic and had fewer doctor visits after 10 weeks than those who wrote about daily irritations. Another study found that participants who wrote and delivered letters of gratitude to people who had been kind to them reported greater happiness. The benefits of these gratitude letters lasted a month.

Let me be clear: By gratitude, I don’t mean being thankful for what you’ve rightfully earned. Black people are often told we should appreciate the fact that we have an opportunity or job even if we don’t feel valued or respected by peers or managers. We don’t have to accept mistreatment or be happy just to have a seat at the table.

So what does it mean to cultivate a genuine sense of gratitude? It could take the form of simple rituals like saying grace before meals but does not have to center around food as Thanksgiving does. Those of us who pray or meditate regularly are practicing gratitude and know the benefits. I suggest that gratitude also means embracing the idea of giving thanks even when it’s hard. Consider these ways to 

Your Gratitude Practice

Write about it. The act of writing slows us down and allows us to be more intentional about our gratitude. To memorialize what you are thankful for, you can try a succinct description in the form of a six-word memoir. In just six words, describe an experience or a person that you are grateful for. For example, “Hugs, love, warmth: thankful for family.” Now grab your journal and see what you come up with.

Compose a thank you note. You can write a thank you to someone who has done you a kindness. In this era of electronic texts and emails, taking the time to put pen to paper can be rewarding for both you and the recipient. If you’re not sure what to say, try completing one or more of these sentence stems below that acknowledge specific behavior and specific impact.

I’m so happy that you ___________ (person’s specific action)

I appreciate that you _____________ (specific action)

Thank you for _____________ (specific action)

You helped me ______________ (how their action supported you)

Make it a habit. There are dozens of free gratitude apps you can download on your phone to help make your gratitude practice easy to remember and engage in regularly. Some apps encourage making quick lists of things you are thankful for, some offer affirmations, and still others offer opportunities for deeper reflection through less structured writing. Some apps incorporate spirituality and faith. Try one or two of them to see what suits you. If an app isn’t your style, pick up a decorative gratitude journal from a stationary store. 

Notice the natural world. Take a walk in your neighborhood or visit your favorite nature spot and use your senses to notice the wonders around you. If you are in a park, for example, tune into what you see, smell, hear, and feel. What colors do you see in the leaves? What fragrance is in the air? Can you hear birds chirping or water running? Does the air feel cool or crisp? Do you feel the warmth of the sun? Try to zero in on what you appreciate about your natural surroundings.

Create a gratitude jar. You can do this with any container like a Mason jar, small bowl or box. You can decorate it with a colorful label or ribbon or just keep it simple. On a slip of paper or post-it note, jot down what you are grateful for in a few words or even with a doodle or drawing. Examples might include “Unexpected call from an old friend,” “My helpful neighbor/coworker” or “A beautiful sunset.” It can be anything that makes you feel good. Drop the paper in the jar and repeat daily, weekly or monthly. When the jar fills up or when you’re simply having a rough day, remove a few slips of paper and read them to remind yourself of all the good things you’ve experienced.