The Frequency of Gratitude: Finding Light in Life’s Darkest Moments
- Oct 3, 2025
- 3 min read
By Hannah Darby
Life is like a book. Every day, a new chapter is written. While we don’t always choose what happens, we do choose how we interpret those experiences, how we allow them to shape our story.
We can decide whether we remain the hero of our story or allow challenges to define us. My chapter in Pieces of Me: A Woman’s Collaboration Story is a window into my journey. A journey of pain, resilience, and ultimately, gratitude.
The Power of Emotional Vibrations
Everything in life carries energy. Emotions are no different; they vibrate at frequencies that influence how we experience the world. Gratitude, joy, and love sit at the top of this emotional scale, while grief, guilt, and despair sit at the bottom.
When we focus only on the pain, we unconsciously block space for healing. When we choose, even in the smallest ways, to find gratitude, we begin to shift our vibration. This doesn’t mean ignoring the hard times; it means letting them flow through us rather than define us.
My Story: Loss, Illness, and Healing
For years, I battled relentless symptoms: exhaustion, pain, brain fog, and sensitivity that made even the simplest tasks feel impossible. I tried everything: medication, physiotherapy, acupuncture, and countless forms of therapy. Still, nothing shifted the heavy cloud of doom.
Yet within this darkness, a spark appeared. I was introduced to Reiki, after all, I had nothing left to lose. What I discovered changed my life. Reiki didn’t cure my illness, but it gave me something far more precious: the ability to view my life differently.
Through energy healing and reflection, I learned to reframe my pain, not as an enemy, but as a teacher. I began to notice the little things: the sound of birdsong, the glow of a sunset, the warmth of my pets curled beside me. These daily gratitudes built upon one another, slowly lifting me out of despair.
Reframing the Narrative
Gratitude became my anchor. Even in the hardest moments, I began asking myself: What is one thing I can be grateful for today? Some days, it was simply the fact that I could rest.
By consistently shifting my focus, I raised my emotional vibration. Gratitude gave me back my life.
This guided me to train as a Reiki Master Teacher and later in HeartHealing-, a groundbreaking therapy that combines science and spirituality to heal deep emotional wounds. Today, I run Healing with Hannah, supporting others through grief, pain, and self-discovery. My work helps people rewrite the stories they tell themselves.
Choosing Gratitude, Choosing Hope
Gratitude doesn’t erase suffering, but it transforms it. It allows us to uncover hidden wisdom in our wounds and to walk forward with greater strength. I never imagined that living with ME/CFS could bring gifts, yet it has. It slowed me down enough to listen to my heart, connect deeply with others, and step into my true calling as a healer, author, and guide.
That is the frequency of gratitude: a vibration that can carry you from despair into hope, from pain into purpose.
I am honoured to share my chapter in Pieces of Me: A Woman’s Collaboration Story.
This book is a collection of voices, women who turned their trials into triumphs, their pain into power.
No matter how improbable life feels at times, it is never impossible. You are the author of your story. Gratitude is the ink that will help you write the next chapter with courage, love, and hope.
Pieces of Me: A Woman’s Collaboration Story is now available on Amazon.
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