Gratitude I Didn't See Coming

I thought I was just writing - turns out, I was finding my people.

Lately, I’ve been paying attention - not just to who’s reading, subscribing, sharing, and engaging… but to who keeps showing up.

And it hit me:

I’m not just building a newsletter, a platform, or a brand.
I’m finding my people.
And somehow - you’re finding me, too.

For that, I am deeply, and humbly grateful.

Because stepping more fully into myself… into my voice… into the things I actually believe (without apology) hasn’t always been easy. There were years I didn’t trust my voice. Years I twisted myself into whatever version I thought would be most acceptable, understandable, or safe.

During those seasons, gratitude felt like something other people had access to.
Something I knew I should feel… but couldn’t quite locate.

Not because I wasn’t blessed or supported, but because I couldn’t see it.
Bitterness closes your eyes.
Fear narrows your field of vision.
Self-protection keeps you scanning for threats, not gifts.

And honestly? When you’re surviving, gratitude can feel like a luxury.

But healing changed the way I see.

Curiosity softened my edges.
Growth widened my lens.
And once I stopped bracing for the worst, I finally had room to notice what was already working in my life.

And now, gratitude isn’t something I have to force.
It’s something that keeps finding me.

In conversations that feel like belonging.
In messages that sound like “I thought I was the only one.”
In strangers who somehow feel familiar.
In this growing community that doesn’t just read my words - they resonate with them.

And I don’t believe that’s an accident.

When we start living in alignment, the universe rearranges people, timing, opportunities, and invitations to meet us there. Not because everything suddenly becomes easy, but because we become able to see what was always trying to reach us.

So today, gratitude (for me) looks like this:

• Thank you for being here.
• Thank you for listening.
• Thank you for letting me take up space.
• Thank you for seeing yourself in my becoming.
• Thank you for walking with me - from bitter to better.

I don’t take a single one of you for granted.

And if you’re in a season where gratitude feels far away or out of reach, hold steady. Healing has a way of clearing the fog. And when it does, you’ll see there was more working in your favor than you ever realized.

Until then, I’ll keep showing up.
You keep showing up.
And we’ll keep finding each other.

With a full heart,

Tobias​
From Bitter to Better
🌐 tobiasneal.me | 📸 @tobias.neal​

🖤 Bitterness ends here. But the work keeps going.