Even your pain can be a blessing!

Yes, you read that right! The very thing that adds complexity to your current season of life can still be a blessing. And I say this while actively navigating my own [fill in the blank] and running a business, teaching, and most importantly, being a mother and managing my household.

This is why I love the "fill in the blank" method for cultivating organic empathy. It’s a reminder that none of us are exempt from life’s challenges. We’re all navigating our own unique intersections of joy, pain, and growth in this shared time and space, al mismo tiempo.

But here's the truth: Even in the midst of it all, we can still cultivate joy and gratitude. Yes, gratitude. Not just in the big celebratory moments, but in the everyday, in-between moments. It’s about pausing throughout the day—even when something throws you off—and bringing yourself back to this truth:

You are not defined by your current circumstances. External things do not make you unless you let them.

@dhariusdaniels says, “Anxiousness comes when we’re obsessed with facts.” Facts can feel heavy, can’t they? They keep us fixated on what’s going wrong, what's lacking, or what feels impossible. But when we make the conscious choice to redirect our limited, precious energy toward gratitude, we unlock the blessing: the ability to cultivate joy and peace even in the middle of the storm.

And let’s get real: Blessings aren’t just the tangible things we can see or touch. If we only associate blessings with things we can measure, what happens when they’re absent? Does that mean we’re not blessed? Absolutely not!

The blessing is this: You can have joy right now. You can experience peace right now. Not after the storm passes, not when the external circumstances change, but in the here and now.

So let me ask you: Can we go deeper as a people? Can we shift our mindset to also see blessings as the intangible but powerful things that sustain us from the inside out? Because yes, even in your pain, you can find peace. You can find joy. And that, my friends, is the blessing.

Let’s cultivate gratitude. Let’s cultivate joy. Let’s redefine what it means to be blessed.