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The small return | Week 2
Sometimes finding your way back isn't about the big moments. It's about noticing what quietly works.
Gavin Kemp
August 03, 2025
Last Tuesday, I made coffee the same way I always do. Same mug, same routine, same quiet few minutes before the day started.
Nothing profound happened. No breakthrough moment or surge of gratitude.
But something felt... steady. Familiar. Like a small piece of myself that hadn't changed, even when everything else felt uncertain.
It wasn't much. But it was real.
Week Tracker
Week 2 of 6 in The Quiet Return ← You are here
Week 1: The Resistance, when you've lost your way
Week 2: The Small Return, finding what still feels real
Week 3: The Gentle Pattern, how small truths connect
Week 4: The Quiet Sharing, letting others into what you see
Week 5: The Difficult Days, when nothing feels grateful
Week 6: The Integration, living with what you've remembered
You're already closer than you think.
The Honest Question
You might be wondering if those small, ordinary moments you noticed last week actually matter, or if you're supposed to be looking for something bigger, more transformative.
The Quiet Insight
Here's what I've learned about small returns to what feels real. They're not the opening act before the main event. They are the main event.
When you've been disconnected from practices that once felt natural, the way back isn't through grand gestures or perfect conditions. It's through recognising what never actually left.
That coffee routine. The way you still check on certain people. How you pause when you hear a song you love. These aren't consolation prizes while you wait for ‘real’ gratitude to return.
They're the foundation everything else builds on.
The small things that still feel true aren't evidence that you're not making progress. They're evidence that something essential in you remained intact, even when everything else felt broken.
What if finding your way back isn't about recovery? What if it's about recognition?
This Week’s Return Practice
This week's return: The Still Real Practice
Step 1: Set up your space. Find your journal and set aside 3-4 minutes of quiet time each day.
Step 2: Ask the question. Write at the top: ‘What still feels real to me today?’
Step 3: Notice without forcing. Look for one thing that felt authentic, natural, or genuinely like you today. Not what you're grateful for, but what felt consistently real.
Step 4: Concrete examples to guide you:
I still stop to pet dogs I meet on walks
I still arrange my desk the same way each morning
I still feel protective when someone I care about is struggling
I still prefer to read actual books over digital ones
I still make the same face when I taste something I don't like
I still feel calmer after organising something
Step 5: Write it down simply. One sentence describing what felt real. No analysis, no gratitude spin, just honest recognition.
Step 6: Close and continue. Don't elaborate or explain why it matters. Just let it exist on the page.
Repeat daily for seven days.
This week's question: What if these small, steady things are more reliable than the big emotional shifts you've been waiting for?
Quiet Truth
“What still works doesn't need your permission to matter.”
Gentle Invitation
Try the Still Real practice this week. Notice what feels consistently authentic about your days, even when nothing feels particularly grateful.
Closing
You're not looking for breakthrough moments. You're recognising what never broke.
Next week, we'll explore how these real moments connect. For now, just notice what remains steady.
See you soon,
Gavin
Unbound Gratitude
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