Hi, I’m Diana, the founder of Healthy Seniors.
I wanted to start our very first themed month with gratitude — not because it’s popular, but because it changed the way I experience life.
I began my own gratitude practice about six years ago, as a simple monthly challenge:
Every day, I would write down one thing I was grateful for.
At first, the obvious things came up:
I’m grateful for my health.
I’m grateful for my family.
I’m grateful for our home and for food on the table.
But after about a week, something subtle — and powerful — began to happen.
I remember it so clearly. It was a bright autumn afternoon, and I went for a walk. The air was crisp, the light golden. I took off my jacket to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.
And suddenly, the thought came:
“This — this feeling — is something I want to write about tonight.”
There had been sunny days before, but I hadn’t noticed them like that.
Those small moments were always there — but I wasn’t tuned in to them.
Only when I started my gratitude practice did my brain realize that I was looking for those moments — and it began to help me find them.
That’s one of the miracles of how our minds work.
Your brain is constantly scanning your environment, looking for what it thinks you need to notice. And for most of human history, what kept us alive was spotting danger — not beauty.
Our ancestors survived by being alert to rustling in the bushes, strange noises, or the smell of smoke.
This ancient instinct — called the negativity bias — means our brains still naturally notice and remember the bad things first: the aches, the worries, the mistakes, the news headline that makes us tense.
It’s not weakness; it’s evolution. But it also means we can go through perfectly good days and remember only the small frustrations.
Gratitude is the practice that rebalances that.
It teaches your brain: “Look for what’s safe. Look for what’s good. Look for what’s beautiful.”
Over time, the mind learns that these calm, joyful signals are also worth remembering — and that’s when life begins to feel lighter, more colorful, and more peaceful.
That’s why we’re starting our first themed month with Gratitude — because I’ve seen how this simple shift can brighten even the hardest seasons.
And now, I want to show you exactly why it works — down to the level of your brain and body.