“Whatever you do, it will ultimately end in death.”

This is what Wendy’s husband tells her when she’s stressed out. It makes her crazy.

Dana’s dad used to have her imagine how insignificant her troubles would look if she were to view them from a telescope on Pluto.

That didn’t work for her. 

Finding a new angle on what’s happening around you is a challenge when you’re in the middle of it. When you’re scared, lonely or unhappy, it’s pretty damn hard to find gratitude or perspective.

And that’s what they were doing, these men that we love. They were finding a way to look at the world that was different than their current experience of it.

They were finding a way into gratitude.

Their way just didn’t work for us.

And that’s key.

For each of us, finding gratitude in difficult times requires finding new perspectives that feel as true (or at least as plausible) as the original.

Shining up something crappy doesn’t change it – it just makes it shiny. Gratitude isn’t a fake-it-till-you-make-it practice.

IT HAS TO FEEL REAL.

And that’s the cool thing about perspective – everyone’s perspective is real to them. Once you understand that, it’s just about exploring the world around you with different lenses until something resonates.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when it feels hard.

There will.

Sometimes you’ll rather just sit where you are, even when that feels bad – and that’s ok too.

But when you don’t want to feel that way…
When you’re ready to move on…
When sitting where you are no longer serves you…

Know there’s peace only a shift in perspective away.

If this is a difficult week for you, try clearing your mind, come completely into the moment you’re in, and keep shifting your perspective until you find one beautiful thing.

Trust us, gratitude won’t be far behind.