How does gratefulness open me to healing?

I was up before dawn; had a cup of coffee; ate a couple of apples with some hummus and took my morning walk in heavy fog for which my aging skin rejoiced as the moisture caressed it. I live in Louisiana and another hurricane has come ashore along the gulf coast. The north central part of the state is not affected. We had one thunderstorm and now fog. But, the south eastern part of the state, the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast are experiencing flooding. I ponder on how difficult it would be to be grateful when you have lost your home and all of your belongings. It’s so easy for me to be grateful today–grateful that I’m high and dry. My ability to be grateful is not being challenged from without but in recent months, a storm has raged within and remembering to notice and to acknowledge things I am thankful for has helped me to weather the storm. It has helped me to own my thoughts and feelings so I can be healed and be more willing to be a “wounded healer.” It’s easy to get lost in the inner battle and keep others at a distance but it’s not healthy or healing. It has reminded me that vulnerability is not weakness. Barbara Brown Taylor’s latest book, “Learning How to Walk in the Dark,” has been very helpful to me. Without darkness, there can be no light. You can’t have one without the other..