Drowning in Thanks
It's Thanksgiving week here in the United States. Most of us are so blessed, yet it's so easy to take so much for granted. Even though I have so much, I occasionally find myself whining. How is that possible? In some ways, I think I succumb to that Deadly Sin – greed! (or materialism) It's so rampant, it seems normal. There's always the next "big thing" to come along.
A while back Adam Kayce suggested rather than trying to "root out" problem issues, sometimes it's better to drown them with the good stuff. Actually, that may not have been exactly what he said, but that was how I heard it!! So, this week of Thanksgiving seems as good a time as any to overwhelm my whining with some lists of gratitude! Here goes (in no particular order):
1) the young maple tree in front of my office is adorned in beautiful leaves
2) I have an office
3) the weather has been beautiful
4) my spiritual path feeds my soul
5) my husband is a sweetheart (he's working on a handyman project for me right now)
6) I'm healthy
7) my son is healthy and relatively happy
my daughter-in-law is a gem
9) my grandchildren are healthy – and beautiful
10) I enjoy my work and the people I work with
boy, this list could really go on…
Inquiry
What are you grateful for? Do you have a gratitude practice? Can you look around you – even in challenging situations – and find something to be grateful for?
Sending you blessings and best wishes for this Thanksgiving week!
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Not ready to go "gently in to that good night?" Me neither! We have too much to offer the world to go into hiding! And every day offers new opportunities to come out of hiding and shine our lights.
You have been added to The Personal Development List. Thank you for being such a wonderful source of inspiration for the world.
There are of course, levels to gratitude. It’s always mixed with the knowledge that we honestly don’t know what is good for us. Is a healthy son good, or are the ‘problems’ a blessing in disguise? What is truly good for his soul? And if there is truly no separation, isn’t gratitude simply an expression of this oneness? Simply being in the moment, a full welcoming of all that is.
http://www.loving-awareness.org
Thank you, Priscilla!
Thank you, too, Matthew! I love what you’ve written! I can remember the first time I read the story about the man who experienced a series of events, both “good” and “bad” that he held with “a full welcoming.” It was many years ago now, but it struck me because I’d never thought of things that way, being very into “right” and “wrong” and “good” and “bad.”
I’m not sure I remember the entire story, but here’s the gist:
Many years ago a man, perhaps a farmer or rancher, has a horse who somehow escapes and disappears. The man’s neighbors tell him, “Oh, that’s awful!” yet the man says “maybe” or “we’ll see” – at any rate, he is accepting of the situation. Several days later, the horses returns, bringing with him a number of wild horses. The neighbors say, “Oh, how wonderful!” yet the man says, “maybe.. Soon, the man’s son is on one of the horses, in the process of training it, and he is thrown, breaking his leg. The neighbors respond by saying “How awful!” but the farmer remains neutral. The following week, soldiers come to the village to conscript or forcibly draft all the healthy young men, but the farmer’s son is passed on, due to his broken leg.
It’s a great reminder for me, even though remaining “neutral” doesn’t feel very juicy. Maybe you can be really enthused, excited, and happy (or even disappointed or bummed), just not ATTACHED to the outcome.