Living in
Gratitude
“Rarely
do we realize that if we simply take time to marvel at life's gifts
and give thanks for them, we activate stunning opportunities to
increase their influence in our lives.”
Angeles
Arrien (Living in Gratitude: A Journey That Will Change Your Life)
After many days of
dreary, gray, rainy, winter weather, this morning dawned sunny and
bright. Still very cold, but just having sunshine is a boon to the
spirit. The winter trees, finally denuded, stand like bones against a
cerulean sky. Even though it's eighteen degrees, I am grateful.
The challenge for me, and
I think for most of us, is to change the way we look at the
world—from seeing what is wrong, to seeing what is right. And not
only seeing it, but acknowledging that so much of what we take for
granted is miraculous. For instance, I'm sitting here this morning in
front of a bank of orchids, now putting out their bloom stalks in the
middle of winter. Just turning on a faucet and having hot water flow
out of the tap is a miracle. Getting into a car and driving anywhere
I choose; walking into a grocery store and buying enough food for the
week, all of these are miraculous opportunities for a grateful heart.
Learning to live in
gratitude is like adjusting the mirrors on your car. It has to do,
not with something new and amazing, but simply changing our focus.
Instead of paying attention to all that upsets and demoralizes us, we
focus on whatever lifts our hearts and energizes us. It's not a
matter of living in denial, but a matter of living in acceptance.
Both these things exist at the same time—the wrong and the right,
the bad and the good. It's a matter of where we place the emphasis.
When we focus on the here
and now—the scent of the soap as we wash our hands, the feel of the
fabric as we dress, the warmth of our winter coat, the patterns of
light and shadows falling from the winter sun—little gifts unseen
and unacknowledged until now, then gratitude is our natural state of
being. Appreciating the life that is all around us and within
us—that's a pure miracle. And all we have to do is open our eyes
and see it.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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