Our story
A quiet practice that grew into something bigger.
I built Expanding Gratitude in one of the hardest seasons of my life. It was never meant to be a product. It was a lifeline, first for me, then for my friends and family, and now for a growing community.
In the middle of everything, before I even knew what I was dealing with, I was desperate for anything that could help me stay afloat. I started keeping a small gratitude ritual. Nothing fancy. Gratitude in the morning, gratitude at night. Slowly, it helped me breathe again.
What I did not expect was how deeply it would shift me. You cannot hold fear and gratitude at the same time. My focus moved from everything that was wrong to everything that was quietly holding me up. Little by little, I felt calmer, softer, more grounded.
Over time, that simple ritual became something bigger, a space that carried me through the dark, the hard, the messy in between. Expanding Gratitude is that space, made into an app: gratitude, journalling, emotion tracking, a companion album, and a year of gentle, science backed lessons. Built and owned by Hodova, my studio in Cape Town.
Gratitude is not positive thinking. It is a neurological intervention with real evidence behind it. So the app teaches the science, gives the practice, then holds you while the habit builds. It meets you where you are on any given day, rather than demanding you arrive somewhere better.
Small, steady, sacred.
This is the practice that helped me stay present, softer, steadier. Maybe it will hold you too.