I Can Hold Two Truths Now: Grief and gratitude can coexist, and so can I.

Growing up in a culture that worships perfection and calls it “success” teaches you that emotions fit neatly into tidy categories.

Good day or bad day.

Happy or sad.

Strong or weak.

Pick a lane and don’t look back.

But life was never meant to be lived in clean lines.

And healing?

Healing refuses to play by those rules.

I used to swing hard between extremes.

If something went wrong, the whole day was ruined.

If grief showed up, I assumed I was backsliding.

If I couldn’t keep it together, I thought I had failed.

But the more I integrated my body, my awareness, my nervous system, and my truth, the more I realized that holding only one feeling at a time was never the goal.

I wasn’t meant to choose.

Now, I know how to walk with both grief and gratitude.

Not in separate chapters.

Not as a before-and-after.

But together, in the same breath.

Grief is messy.

It can knock the wind out of you on a random Tuesday.

It can ruin an afternoon with no visible trigger.

It can make you feel like you’re back at square one.

But grief is also a sign of love.

A reflection of what mattered.

A shadow that only exists because something in you is still lit.

And when I stop trying to categorize everything, gratitude shows up too.

Not the performative kind.

Not “good vibes only.”

But the quiet kind, the kind that whispers,

I miss what I had. I’m glad I felt it. I’m still here.

This is the moment I stop splitting myself into acceptable emotions and make room for the whole, complicated, human experience.

This is where everything I’ve learned finally gets to live together... grief, gratitude, clarity, truth, tenderness, and the version of me who’s learning I don’t have to choose sides inside my own heart.

Learning that grief and gratitude can coexist has become one of the most grounding parts of my healing.

A Slice of Humble Pie

You’re not falling apart, you’re finally making space for the full story.

Reflection

Where in your life are two seemingly opposite truths both valid?

What happens when you stop trying to choose just one?

Affirmation

I am strong enough to hold grief and gratitude at the same time.