5 Unexpected Reasons To Be Grateful For When Things Go Wrong

The umbrella

Despite my plans to enjoy life and control negative emotions in the new year, some unexpected events made me anxious and worried right at the beginning of 2022. I planned to relax on the sofa reading a book or writing in my little room all day, but I couldn’t even sleep at night.

I will not make a list of the bad news I received, but a person in my family got sick, a dear friend was operated on and is now under treatment, a girlfriend I used to spend some time with is no longer with us. The marriage of a couple of dear friends has now reached a final point.

I am anything but relaxed and enjoying the holidays. I am worried for all of them and their families, and I keep asking myself if I should have done more to show them my love and if there is something I can do now. These are unpredictable and rare events, but I must admit I can’t find any positive aspects in them.

Once again, gratefulness comes to my help, and if I think about it, I feel better. What am I grateful for, I ask myself, in these difficult times?

1. I have good friends. They are going through rough waters, and I am grateful that I can help them. They share their worries with me, it means they need, love, and trust me. I can listen to them, so they speak and feel better.
2. I live in a time when doctors and hospitals work quite well. Moreover, in Italy, you can have healthcare assistance even if you don’t have insurance. I am grateful because I am healthy (I hope so), and I am not facing those complicated steps.
3. Another friend, aware of my situation, gave me a subscription to an app to listen to music and meditation, which is helping me every day. She is a gift from the universe and I will be forever grateful for her friendship.
4. I am in a healthy relationship, and I hope the complicated stage of my friends’ marriage is not something I will soon face.
5. There is something I can do to help my friends: I can listen to them, show them I care, help them go out for a walk, distract them from their worst fears.

Gratitude is like an umbrella full of lights: it protects you from your fears, and it gives you new energy, it makes you stronger. It reminds you that in life sometimes you give, other times you receive: those who feel stronger can share what they have with the weak ones.

Together, we are not alone.

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