Gratitude

November 24, 2020

Gratitude

By Amba Gale

While this is a time for Giving Gratitude, what does this mean? Certainly not just saying the words alone, but imbuing the words with the meaning behind those words. In what ways can we arrive into the Spirit of Gratitude, we might ask? Is it even all right, now, in these times, to arrive into Gratitude, when all around us, there are so many challenges, anger, hurt, disappointment, tension?

And yet, in these dark times, growing even darker through the passing of each day, into the season of winter, the Light of Gratitude can be a beacon for us all, illuminate the shadows into blessings, touch the heart, and enliven our lives.

I find when I concentrate, when I give my full, 100% attention, to that which is around me, I am uplifted into Wonder, am uplifted into Gratitude. I see the miraculousness of everything around me. Life is too precious for us to be gripped by negative conversation, entangled into anger and despair, for us to
lose ourselves in a negative narrative or concepts, expectations, and ideals where we are constantly comparing what is from “What should be” and being disappointed as a result.

Stop and look around. Be with and listen deeply to nature around you. Hear what it has to say to you. Take a walk with full attention to each step. Find what brings you joy. Drink tea with 100% of your being. When you do, you will receive the delight and the healing power of the tea. Being fully attentive, hearing and seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, “being grateful for whoever comes,” as Rumi guides us, has a transformative power.

Put a new practice in place in your life: each night, before sleep, ask yourself, “For what am I grateful today?” From there, from that one, focused question, let your heart remember the day, let your breath rest on one conversation, one new insight, one new moment of grace that touched your life, one thing accomplished, one shift in perspective made, and allow yourself to rest in the Grace of that Gratitude. And then, if you want to take this discipline one step further, you can ask yourself, “For whom am I grateful?” And, “Regarding that person, for what am I grateful?” Take some time over this weekend to express to them what you see. Let them receive the Light of your Gratitude.

Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk whose Work is all about gratitude, says, “Nothing gives you more joy than when your heart grows wider and wider and your sense of belonging to the universe grows deeper and deeper.”

With Gratitude, our heart grows wider and wider. With Gratitude, our sense of belonging to the universe grows deeper and deeper. With gratitude, we can transform our world.