Hi, I'm Elizabeth Perry, and this is Where It's Quiet, a podcast about returning to what's real beneath the noise.

Today I'm naming something I didn't have a word for until recently: gratitude grief — that sweet, aching feeling when your heart is so full of love and thankfulness it almost hurts. I share personal moments from the Camino, a solo trip through Portugal and France, a surprise engagement, and hosting TEDx Bentonville that opened me up to a kind of joy that felt both overwhelming and unbelievably alive.

We talk about why that happens: our nervous systems can actually protect us from positive overwhelm, and trauma can narrow the window in which we can fully feel. I share how EMDR therapy helped me widen that window so I could experience more gratitude, compassion, and love without immediately bracing for the fall.

I also get real about how gratitude and grief can live in the same heartbeat — feeling deep gratitude for my mom and for moments I missed, and letting the sorrow for those years of numbness surface as proof that I'm learning to feel again.

There’s a simple practice I guide you through in the episode: settle into your body, breathe, tense and release, then bring to mind someone or something you're deeply grateful for. Let the memory become three-dimensional, notice sensations, and let gratitude and grief coexist. This kind of savoring trains your brain to tolerate more joy and connection.

My invitation is gentle: let yourself sit in the warmth and the ache. Hold the love, let the tears come if they come, and remember that grief can be the evidence of a heart that has learned to love more fully. Marcus Aurelius said there’s no quieter retreat than the soul — visit it often and fill it with this alive, tender capacity.

If this episode moved something in you, savor it a little longer and maybe share it with someone you’re grateful for. Until next time — stay gentle, stay curious, and keep returning to where it’s quiet.