My original gratitude journey began during the 2016 presidential election cycle as a volunteer at Hillary Clinton’s Miami campaign headquarters. I needed to answer my doubts and fears with faith and connection. I started talking with people about gratitude — those I knew personally and those I knew only from their work. My questions were far-reaching as I sought to look deeply at the often agreeable but difficult-to-practice concept. Over the next few years, I conducted informal interviews with randomly selected participants. I spoke with an Air Force Colonel, a diplomat, a yogi/small business owner, a Cirque du Soleil performer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a union President, a New York Times best-selling author, non-profit leaders, endowed professors, and others — a truly insightful group. Sharing transcripts of the conversations is a long-awaited writing goal.

The courage to ask people to participate, to invite them into my heart — which was more necessary and difficult to conjure than I can explain and stood in direct opposition to my monkey mind, which repeatedly screamed, “No one wants to talk with you or hear what you have to say.” — propelled my gratitude investigation. A lot of “No” and silence surrounded the process of finding people with whom to speak.

The heart of my gratitude journey is the desire to find hope in dark times. Early on, I learned that gratitude gives hope muscle. I thought that if I could hear the words of those who lived lives based on service, creativity, and love, I might begin to develop a grounded theory of gratitude beyond my understanding of sporadic practice, frequent bouts of superficial positivity, and often disconnected words and actions. 

My gratitude journey has included analyzing hours of interview transcripts, reading tons about gratitude, hobbling together gratitude lists, holding random conversations focused on gratitude, writing essays and blog posts after essays and blog posts about gratitude, and teaching a writing class focused on gratitude in a men’s federal prison.

Thinking about gratitude after years of studying wide-awakeness — an existential concept rooted in the idea we are in and of experience — a few things are clear.

Gratitude is both in and of experience. By that, I mean gratitude is an action that reverberates across meaning and contexts. Generosity multiplies a gift. Kindness magnifies the good. Grace builds compassion. Story creates connection. Reflection breathes understanding. Love builds justice and peace. Consider generosity, kindness, grace, reflection, and love as gratitude manifest.