Dear readers,
For our special new series, “The Healing Power Within,” we asked readers to share their stories and insights on our first featured virtue: gratitude. Here are the top gratitude stories we received in response. We’re grateful for your contributions!
The Healing Power Within is a six-week series exploring timeless virtues and the surprising science behind how they improve our health, strengthen our relationships, and change our lives.
The following readers’ stories have been edited for style and clarity.
An Unexpected Journey
Submitted by: Margaret DahlMy husband and I recently took our trailer for 3 weeks across the province to visit friends and family we hadn’t seen for 3 years since moving. The trip became more than I had expected. It wasn’t about how many visits we could chalk up, but just saying hello.
At each of our 29 visits, more than expected, we were warmly welcomed. Our hosts appreciated that we travelled to see them—whether it was to sit for a few hours, or stay for a few days.
Most of our friends are seniors: some struggling with cancer, some widowed, a few lonely, and some active and grateful to be able to take a walk. One has just lost her mother, also a friend of ours. We hugged each and every one of them.
I was humbled by their friendship and grateful for all the support and wonderful memories we shared. We laughed and cried.
We concluded our trip today and headed home.
This vacation did not cost much, yet it’s one of the most memorable. My journal is full of stories relived and new experiences.
We know we may not see some of our friends again due to illness. But we know they were thought of and valued.
I’m forever grateful for their friendship and open door.
Aging Gratefully
Submitted by: Bibi H., Ajax, Ont.The concept of gratitude is as old as the hills, yet it is often overlooked for its immense benefits to the body and soul. I am very aware of the power of gratitude and its link to contentment and happiness.
As we age, our perspectives change and what was once taken for granted is now perceived as a great blessing. In the evening of my life, there are remarkably small things that bring me joy, and for which I am grateful.
I wake up feeling absolutely wonderful that I have been given the gift of another day. I marvel at the sunrise, and thank God I can hear the birds sing. And what a stunning chartreuse stains the budding leaves of the trees I can see from my bedroom window. More importantly, I can swing my legs down and walk unassisted to handle my morning’s toilette and grooming routines.
There is much in my life that I am grateful for, especially family, who will probably never fathom the immense depth of my love for them. But beyond the obvious, my gratitude has grown for the small things my younger self once took for granted—warm water flowing from the tap, books that keep me company, and the many friends who keep me young at heart.
Lucky for me, there is a really long list for which I am grateful. I am truly blessed.
Life-Changing Journal
Submitted by: Deborah Morin, Hinton, Alta.I have always journalled, however, once I started a GRATITUDE journal, my life had a HUGE shift after about 9 months!
I cannot explain it, however, I really felt it. To this day, I still do a gratitude journal. Plus, I always try to see the positive in any situation.
“Just for today,” is my mantra and how I live daily—It’s not worth the energy to think past today.
Gratitude as Necessity
Submitted by: Debra Dolan, West Vancouver, B.C.Gratitude didn’t come to me as a virtue; it arrived as a necessity. Living through injuries, illness, fatigue, and now cancer stripped life down to what actually matters. I stopped looking for silver linings and started noticing what stayed steady when everything else shifted.
I became grateful for the people who didn’t disappear, for the relationships that adjusted their pace to mine, for the conversations that didn’t require performance. Gratitude strengthened my connections not by making me softer, but by making me clearer about what, and who, is real.
And somewhere along the way, gratitude changed my life. It taught me to honour my body as a companion, not a disappointment or a weakness or something that betrayed me. It taught me to see the ordinary as enough. It taught me that even in the hardest of personal times, something remains—a gesture, a moment, a breath—that says, quietly but firmly, there is still beauty here and a lot more living and loving to do.
Antidote to Grief
Submitted by: Pamela Dos Ramos, Calgary, Alta.I know first hand how powerful expressing gratitude can be.
Instead of weeping about my husband’s passing and feeling sad at what and who I lost, I have been talking about how grateful I am to have known him for x number of years and to have been married to him for x number of years. I am grateful for all the things (specifics) that we were able to do together.
Tree of Hope
Submitted by: Nancy CurtisSpring is my favourite season. Lots of people say they find it dirty, with dusty streets and rainy days, but I have always looked at this time of year, as the earth shedding old man winter and taking the next steps to rebuild.
What I especially enjoy is watching rabbits scurrying across green spaces with their mates, and birds flying overhead with small twigs in their beaks to build their nests. One bird that I am particularly fond of and impatiently wait for its return every year, is the American Robin. I wait for their return and to hear their sweet song to signal the start of spring. Especially after a long, snowy winter season in a northern city, spring and robins always symbolize renewal and hope, and I look forward to welcoming them back every year.
I recall one year when my young family and I were going through a tough time. My husband at the time was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart disease and was told by his cardiologist that he was no longer able to work. I was a stay-at-home mom for our two young children, so money was tight living on a small disability pay. As the bills started piling up, so did the tension between my husband and me.
It was spring, and I was actively looking for a job to supplement our income, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t find one fast enough. This didn’t stop my husband and I from fighting like cats and dogs. The pressure of being food insecure—and wondering if or when our power was going to get cut off—was mounting, and adding fuel to the fire.
One day stands out in particular for me. I was exhausted after a day with two sick kids and had just settled them into bed. As I breathed a sigh of relief that one thing was taken off my plate for the night, my attention was drawn to another unwanted argument about money. I felt like I was in a bad version of Groundhog Day because every day, arguments would ensue. Day after day, it became draining.
After the final round of angry outbursts, I had to get out of the house to clear my head. I grabbed my car keys off a shelf in the foyer and headed out the back door to the garage.
It was dusk, and it had been overcast for most of the day. Usually, I would hear birds singing before they hunkered down for the night, the last bit of chatter to signal it was bedtime for everyone. But as I strained my ears to hear something, all I heard were cars in the distance driving down the nearby freeway.
“Where are my robins?” I said pitifully to myself. I would have killed to hear their sweet song. I stormed into the garage and got into the car, trying to decompress before throwing it into reverse to back out onto the driveway. I was so stressed and focused on all the negative things going on in my life that I was even upset about not hearing or seeing my favourite bird.
I was going to grab a litre of milk from a nearby grocery store. Normally, I would turn west down the alley to get to the store, but as I sat on the parking pad getting ready to turn my wheels, I had an overwhelming feeling to go in the opposite direction: east. It was the longer way to get to the store, but since I was not in a rush and needed the break, I decided to go that way.
I had just backed into the alley and was throwing the car into drive to go in that direction, when all of a sudden, I saw the most amazing display.
Going east down the alley normally led me to a T-intersection that had a cement barrier with a fence behind it and a huge American Elm tree. In the summer, this majestic tree was home to hundreds of birds, cheeky rusty-red squirrels, and countless insects. It was spectacular, and I would often admire this wonderful tree from my house down the street.
That day, as I inched closer, it wasn’t just the beauty of its trunk and branches that caught my eye, but what was sitting on them. Scattered across the branches sat close to a hundred robins, all bunkering down for the night. Some branches had one or two robins, others had so many it looked like the branch would break. But it was the magnitude of seeing so many robins in one spot that took my breath away.
I literally stopped the car and started to cry. It was amazing what the universe was trying to tell me: Things will get better. It also showed me that it is important to be present every moment of every day. I am grateful for so many of the little things that I sometimes take for granted; a tree in an alley, the endless horizons, or a small, red-breasted bird.
I did find a job, and things eventually settled for us. Twenty years later, I haven’t forgotten the robins in that majestic tree. I am still grateful for the hope that experience gave me, and how it got me through a tough night.
