From time to time, despite your best efforts at misery and woe, the tides will toss you moments of genuine grace, contentment, and joy. When this happens, pay attention. These are the seeds of genuine wisdom. They come and go at their pleasure, but you can make their acquaintance in the process.
I have tried to do Gratitude exercises repeatedly, but they are swamped in the face of underlying negative emotions, underlying tensions, which I have found only give up their grip with focus and conscious unwinding.
But we are all blessed–admittedly very rarely for many of us–with the real deal, with genuine gratitude. Pay attention when this happens. Do not force these feelings, and certainly do not try and conjure these feelings. Regard them like a deer that has happened on your lawn in the early morning. Be gentle. Be calm. Be welcoming. And when it leaves, reflect on what happened. You have been gifted a small wisdom, a small spark, that over time can be turned into an enduring flame of, perhaps restless, but real well being.