Gratitude Is Not Seasonal

By Carmita Semaan, CEO
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Gratitude isn’t something we perform once a year. It’s a way of seeing and being that calls us back to what is real—especially when life feels heavy.
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So many in our communities are facing uncertainty, loss, transition, and deep weariness right now. I want to honor that. Practicing gratitude in moments like these is not about pretending everything is okay. It’s about widening our view just enough to notice what is still holding us: the people, the purpose, and the possibilities we haven’t yet touched.
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At Surge, gratitude anchors how we lead and how we love our people. It reminds us that none of us is meant to carry the work alone—that we are part of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called an “inescapable network of mutuality.”
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As I prepare to step into a season of rest, reflection, and restoration during my upcoming sabbatical, I’m learning this in a deeper way. My team and board held up a mirror and reminded me: “We are strong enough. You don’t have to carry everything.” Their belief helped me see that this sabbatical is not just for me. It’s also for Surge. It’s for our future. It’s for the kind of leadership that is sustainable, clear, joyful, and rooted.
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This moment is not simply about stepping back—it’s about returning.

Returning to myself.
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Returning to joy—and letting joy return to me.
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Returning to the still voice inside that knows the next right step.
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And so, I offer this as an invitation:
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In a season where many are hurting, where the world feels unpredictable, may we practice a form of gratitude that is honest and spacious. One that holds both our grief and our hope. One that strengthens our sense of connection. One that draws us closer to our purpose and to each other.
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This is the work I’m stepping into.

My hope is that gratitude leads all of us toward what is calling us…now and next.