Grief, Gifts, and Gratitude

This page shares a short summary of Bebe’s essay. The full piece was first published on presencebasedcoaching.com.

Each December, Bebe sets aside time to look back on the year: in her life, work and relationships, and in the world. At the close of 2020, that reflection came down to three simple words.

Grief

Perhaps the least discussed experience of that year, grief showed up for nearly everyone she knew, in many forms. Bebe names her own losses as well: familiar routines, the disruption of a sudden move and time apart from family. Naming what is present, she finds, creates a little distance from it, and room for another perspective.

Gifts

Alongside the losses came unexpected gifts: more frequent calls with loved ones, students thriving in a newly virtual classroom, clearer priorities and more time close to nature.

Gratitude

Reflecting on those gifts leads naturally to gratitude, which Bebe finds can shift her inner state even in moments of reactivity. She shares simple practices friends use to keep it close, such as a nightly journal or a jar of written thanks on the kitchen counter.

An invitation

The piece closes by asking readers to consider what they have grieved, what gifts they have received and what practice of gratitude might support them, for themselves or for the people they serve.