- Unbound Gratitude
- Posts
- When you've lost your way - Week 1
When you've lost your way - Week 1
You don't need a new practice. You need to remember what already worked.
Gavin Kemp
July 27, 2025
Opening Scene
There's a specific kind of tired that comes after trying too hard.
Not ‘the tired’ of working late or managing stress. The tired of performing your own life. Of smiling when you don't feel it. Of writing gratitude lists that feel like homework assignments you're failing.
Maybe you had a practice once that felt real. Maybe gratitude used to come naturally, before everything got complicated.
And now you're here, wondering if you can find your way back to something that actually feels true.
Week Tracker
Week 1 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 doing this right just by being here.
The Honest Question
You might be wondering if it's possible to return to something that once felt effortless, when now it feels like you're trying to remember a language you used to speak fluently.
The Quiet Insight
Here's what I've noticed about finding your way back to practices that once worked. You can't force the return. You can't think your way back to feeling grateful.
But you can stop trying so hard.
When something that used to feel natural now feels performative, it's usually because we're trying to recreate the feeling instead of creating the conditions.
You don't need to rebuild your entire relationship with gratitude. You just need to notice what hasn't changed about you, even when everything else feels different.
The capacity to notice good things didn't disappear. It's just buried under the weight of trying to make gratitude look a certain way.
What if finding your way back isn't about recovery? What if it's about remembering that you never actually lost the ability to see clearly?
This Week’s Return Practice
This week's return: The Still Me Practice
Step 1: Set up your space. Find your journal or a piece of paper. Set aside 2-3 minutes when you won't be interrupted.
Step 2: Ask the question. Write at the top: ‘What's still true about me today?’
Step 3: Notice without judging. Write down one thing that remains steady about who you are. Not what you're grateful for, not what you should appreciate. Just what's consistent.
Examples to help you start:
I still check on my plants every morning
I still pause when I hear my favourite song
I still text back when friends reach out
I still feel protective of people I care about
I still prefer my coffee strong
Step 4: Write it down. One sentence. No explanation needed. Just the simple truth.
Step 5: Close the journal. Don't analyse it. Don't expand on it. Just let it sit.
Repeat daily for seven days.
This week's question. What if the way back isn't through effort, but through recognition?
Quiet Truth
“You haven't lost your way. You've just forgotten how to trust what you see.”
Gentle Invitation
Try the Still Me Practice once this week. Notice what remains constant about you, even when your relationship with gratitude feels uncertain.
Closing
The path back to what works isn't about becoming someone new. It's about remembering what was always true.
Next week, we'll explore how to recognise what still feels real. For now, just notice what hasn't changed.
See you soon,
Gavin
Unbound Gratitude
Daily Prompts and Affirmations
Would you like to start your day with calm and clarity?
Each day, we send a short email to help you begin with intention: one gratitude prompt, one affirmation, and one mindful challenge.
If you’d like to receive these daily prompts and affirmations, click the button below and select ‘Yes’.
We’ll take care of the rest.
Optional Companion
If you want something beside you while this shift continues, the Morning Gratitude Reset Kit is now open.
It’s not a journal.
It’s a structure.
A way to support the kind of person you already are.
If you know anyone who would enjoy these newsletters, please share them with them using the button below.
Reply