Gratitude has been showing up for me a lot lately.

Interestingly, I resisted it at first.

As I was preparing a recent well-being practice for nurses, gratitude kept coming to mind. But I wasn’t necessarily feeling particularly grateful about everything happening in my own work life at the time.

And maybe that was exactly why I needed it.

Because gratitude isn’t about pretending everything is wonderful.

It isn’t about ignoring the hard things, minimizing frustration, or telling ourselves that we should be grateful because someone else has it worse.

Gratitude gives us another place to look.

And for nurses, I think that matters.

We’re Really Good at Noticing What Needs Attention

Think about how much of nursing is built around noticing.

What changed?

What doesn’t look right?

What needs to be done?

Who needs help?

What could go wrong?

That awareness is part of what makes us good nurses. But when our minds and bodies spend hours every day responding to problems, needs, interruptions, and uncertainty, some of that tension can follow us long after the shift ends.

We can leave having done a hundred meaningful things and still find ourselves thinking about the one thing we wish had gone differently.

Gratitude gives us an opportunity to intentionally notice something else.

The coworker who stepped in without being asked.

The patient who made us laugh.

The moment we realized we actually knew exactly what to do.

Our body carrying us through another long day.

The people waiting for us at home.

Or something completely unrelated to nursing: sunshine on our face, our dog greeting us at the door, a beautiful sunrise, or a really good cup of coffee.

None of those things erase what was difficult.

They simply get to exist alongside it.

From Thinking Gratitude to Feeling It

This is the piece I’m especially interested in exploring.

Many of us have tried gratitude practices before. Maybe we’ve kept a gratitude journal or made a mental list of three things we’re grateful for.

Those practices can be meaningful.

But what happens when we go beyond thinking about gratitude and allow ourselves to actually feel it?

To pause.

To breathe.

To bring something or someone to mind that evokes genuine gratitude.

And then to notice what happens in the body.

Maybe there’s warmth in your chest.

Your shoulders soften.

Your breathing slows.

Your face relaxes.

Maybe something feels just a little lighter.

Rather than immediately moving on to the next thought or task, what would happen if we stayed there for a few breaths and allowed that feeling to soak in?

That’s what I mean by embodied gratitude.

It isn’t about forcing ourselves into a positive mindset. And it doesn’t mean difficult emotions suddenly disappear.

Instead, we make room for another experience in the body, too.

Perhaps some of the tension or stuck energy we’ve been carrying begins to soften or move. Perhaps we simply experience a few moments of peace, connection, or appreciation.

We don’t have to dictate what happens next.

We can simply notice.

Join Me for the September Nurse Connect Circle

This month’s Nurse Connect Circle is:

Embodied Gratitude: A practice of noticing, feeling, and receiving what’s good

Together, we’ll slow down, breathe, reflect, connect, and explore gratitude as something we can experience not only with our minds, but with our whole selves.

This Circle may especially resonate with direct care nurses who spend so much of their days attending to the needs of others, but Nurse Connect Circles are open to nurses across roles, specialties, and seasons of their careers (including nursing students!).

And here’s something important:

You don’t need to arrive feeling grateful.

You don’t need to be in a good place with nursing.

You don’t need to push away frustration, exhaustion, grief, anger, or uncertainty.

You just need to come as you are.

We’ll make room for all of it.

And perhaps, somewhere within everything we’re carrying, we’ll create a little more room to notice what’s good, let ourselves truly feel it, and allow it to soak in.

September Circle Options

In Person | Lincoln, California
Sunday, September 27
9:00–10:30 AM Pacific

Virtual
Monday, September 28
3:30–5:00 PM Pacific

Ready to join us?
Registration and additional details are available here:

Register for a Nurse Connect Circle

Come exactly as you are. 💗

Connect. Reflect. Grow.