Gratitude Beyond Feelings
~ Written December 7, 2025. Reflections on gratitude beyond emotion, sober living, and remembering the blessings that remain even when the feeling itself is not there.
Today I am grateful even when I do not feel grateful on the inside. How so, you might ask? How does one hold fast to gratitude when the feeling isn’t there? Because I now KNOW that gratitude is much more than a feeling. Although that matching “feeling” version is quite beautiful and profound, I also know that the feeling comes and goes… what remains rock solid is my remembrance of the many blessings I now experience in my life. The small things I used to take for granted.
I can awaken in the mornings with a clear mind, heart and conscience knowing that the possibilities for another beautiful clean and sober day are limitless.
Knowing that I can sow goodness, productivity and love into a world I once only looked to take from and simply survive in.
Knowing that the same God that delivered me from self-oppression, bondage and addictive slavery to opiates many years ago is the same powerful and faithful love that will lift me triumphantly to meet each day with dignity and purpose… and so it is with a thankful heart I can affirm, I am grateful.
~ Shambo
Shambo
Shambo ~ Mark D. Hulett is a writer and contemplative voice from South Georgia, where nature, long-term sobriety, and the teachings of nonduality have formed the ground of his life. Influenced by Christ, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, his reflections speak from the heart — inviting readers and listeners into clarity, compassion, and quiet return to their own heart.