The Feeling of Gratefulness
Sometime ago I wrote a series of blogs on gratitude. I got a few comments along the lines of feeling that gratitude has become trite or without sincerity or meaning. I get that – some of us mature folks grew up with the absolute necessity of saying “Please” and “Thank you” for every thing and not really hearing the depth that being thankful can convey.
We have a tradition around our house of having each person at the Thanksgiving table say something they are thankful for before diving into the turkey. Many years ago now I got a lot of groans over requiring compliance with the tradition and some eye rolling as well. When we sat down to our feast table and began to go from person to person, my husband’s son offered something that many males are thankful for as they age (think Viagra) and was totally inappropriate. It generated giggles from the kids at the table and not so much from the hostess. I realized then that enforcing gratitude practices were unwise, to say the least.
The auto pilot of thank you is not the secret sauce. It’s the feeling that overwhelms the body and the mind with joy – when we focus on that glorious feeling of our blessings, abundance, food, and family. Its that flood of endorphins when you miss hitting a dog that runs out in front of your car, or that sigh of relief when you see your child fall and laugh rather than cry…its that warmth when your doctor says all your tests look good. The amazing and wonderful thing about true gratefulness is – is to notice you don’t have to have one of those above experiences to feel it…You can just in this moment bring gratefulness into your heart (without an object) and allow it to permeate your entire being. If you are having trouble, by all means add an object – I turn to the faces of my three terriers and without missing a beat, I soften with gratefulness for the joy they bring to my life.
This has been a period of time where we could easily focus on the problems of our world –there is so much to choose from there….or we could notice the blessings that have come during these months of quiet and restricted activity.. For me its brought the blessing of taking on line courses from Agape University in Los Angeles (formerly an onsite university only). It has brought wonderful new friends from around the country – most especially my partner in prayer who lives in Boston. I have finished more knitting than I ever have before…and that will bring joy to more than just me..and I could go on and on.
So we could feel sad at the fewer faces at our table this coming Thanksgiving – or give thanks for the research chemists who have diligently worked towards a vaccine- or the many warehouse workers who have pushed to get us what we need at the front door – or the number of on line offerings to aid in stress reduction and increase Love.
So notice how easy and grace filled gratefulness can come into your life- how it can increase your well-being and magnify your joy. I give thanks for all of you – and the new beginnings of every moment.
“If the only prayer you ever utter is thank you, it is enough.” Meister Eckhart
