For today a slightly different post than usual.
Lately I've been thinking a lot about Gratitude and what it really means to me.
Maybe because we are heading for the Autumn equinox this concept has been a lot
on my mind. Gratitude is the one pillar of my spiritual practice which never
wavers. When everything else is put to the test and doubted, gratitude remains fully
alive and intact. I even don’t mind if I can figure out to who or what I am grateful.
Yesterday when I was Googling about Gratitude,
to explore how others practiced it and what they had to share about this subject, I
came across Ann Voskamp, a Christian
writer, who has written a book called: “One Thousand
Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are”. It was written in
2011 so perhaps many of you have heard about it already. Although her spiritual
path isn't exactly mine, I think she has a very important message for all of us, since in my opinion Gratitude is a universal principle. She dares you to list one thousand things you
are grateful for. One thousand gifts
from who/whatever you think they are coming from. It is a well known practice to list
five things each night before you go to sleep but to list one thousand is
something entirely different.
Ann Voskamp has been through a lot in her life and she claims her faith but even more her Gratitude practice has pulled her through. Gratitude is not all about being thankful for the big things in life but even more for the everyday events, like a bird singing, a leaf falling or the
snoring of your dog. Just try to notice
the beauty around you where you are at that moment. You don’t have to live a
grand life to be grateful. This morning while drinking my first coffee in the garden, I enjoyed the first signs of Autumn in crisp morning the air.
Seeing beauty when the lightening hits The Tower is a gift we can
gracefully accept with our hands wide open. That’s when trust comes into play.
Do you trust the flow of life; trust that everything will be okay again. That’s
something to be grateful for and everything else will follow. We are all worthy of so
much; even of one thousand gifts and more
So for
today I am going to start with my list of a thousand gifts.
“Wherever you are, be all there." I have lived the runner, panting ahead in worry, pounding back in regrets, terrified to live in the present, because here-time asks me to do the hardest of all: just open wide and receive.” Ann Voskamp
thank you for this post. I've always thought that Gratitude and Kindness are the two components of Joy, that, differently from Happiness, is not a goal, but a truce in which you allow yourself to experience the beauty of the world, despite your own situation. I see the Tower struck by the lightning not only as a symbol of defeat or destruction, but also as the self - as Yeats would have written - suddenly stripped to the bone, revealed in what either hurt or heal. And yes, Autumn - maybe my favourite season, is a good moment to think about the gifts of all the things shining ans passing away.
ReplyDeleteI like this quote from Yeats. It expresses the question we have to face every moment of our life: Can I be grateful here and now? Is the here and now enough for me? Can we choose for healing instead of hurting?
DeleteEvery gift is passing away when we not receive it with our are hands open wide and capture it with our minds eye too; making a mental note ore write it down
I love Autumn!!!
I love your post today. Such a good message. With my own struggles these past months and finding myself the "runner", I started a Gratitude notebook to write in each day. And re-read to reinforce. It really is amazing how easy it is to fill the daily page. As part of this process, I love using some creative visualization thinking of my goals in the present tense. I am happy and smiling today!!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day Ellen.
Thank you Carol, Journaling your gratitude is giving it such a strong voice. Only then we are able to revisit the beautiful little moments which would have been otherwise forgotten. Today must be a good day since we are both happy :D. The sun is shining and autumn is peeking around the corner
DeleteHugs
What a lovely post! I kept a gratitude journal for a year, and every night I would write down three things for which I was grateful for that day. The hard part was I didn't allow myself to write down the same thing more than once, which made me get up looking for things to be grateful for. Some days it was a simple thing, like the shy smile of a child, other times it was being thankful the day was over. :) It radically changed my perception of everything.
ReplyDeleteI think when you repeat the same things often is only a sign you a very, very grateful for it. I don't think I can count the cups of coffee I've listed in my in my journal :)
DeleteThe changing of perception is what counts not the originality of the Journal. Which bring us back to transformation again
Hugs
I didn't meant to imply that repeating the same things didn't mean you took them for granted. :) I have certain things/people that would make the top five every day! I just meant that not listing them forced me to look at how much I had to be grateful for (pushed my boundary line outwards so to speak).
DeleteI understand!!! It would be worthwhile to consider this too when I am going to list my 1000 gifts. otherwise It would become a blend of loved ones and coffee :D
DeleteThis list will be exactly what you are talking about: seeing more and experiencing more new beautiful things
Hi my dear Ellen! Excellent post! I love your posts!!! :) My gratitude begins when I wake up every morning, because I'm alive and safe, and for a lot of things life gives me everyday. I think we all have always reasons to be grateful for. Big kiss and Muchas Estrellas!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Las Magas!! Waking up and starting the day with gratitude is such a positive beginning of that day. I will try this for myself. Usually I write in my journal at night when the day is done so this will be a very different experience :)
DeleteHugs and many stars
This is beautiful, and a wonderful reminder for me today. Despite the fact that my last post was on gratitude, today I've been finding it hard to get in touch with that because of the challenges. Yet, as you rightly say, there are still a thousand things to be grateful for, through all the worry and stress. I don't have a gratitude journal, despite an almost daily gratitude practice, but perhaps now would be a good time to start…
ReplyDeleteHugs!
HI Kerry. For me it feels so much more real when I write these gifts down. Just to take that moment and decide a gift is important enough to jot it down and to revisit it when you need it.They become the little happy snapshots of your life. Maybe when you put your journal on the kitchen table so it will take even less than a minute to give a comment on your own life
DeleteHugs
Thank you for the suggestion, Ellen. I picked out a blank journal my mother gifted me, and have made a start :)
DeleteThis is so awesome and I hope you will enjoy it :D
DeleteAmazing. This was just what I needed to read today. I'm very grateful to you for this. :D
ReplyDeleteAnd I am grateful this resonated with you. :)
DeleteWonderful post Ellen. A journal is a beautiful thing. I have journaled for many years daily, but never actually had a gratitude journal. I think my next one will be just for that, along with my regular daily journal. Gratitude has become the most essential thing in my life. I once read this. I am not have grateful because I am happy, I am happy because I am grateful. It is so easy in this life to take so many things for granted. A daily gratitude journal I think is prayer, that says thank you, every day. Thank you for this post Ellen!
ReplyDeleteYou welcome Catherine! Gratitude can become as essential as breathing to live a healthy life. You could also incorporate gratitude in you daily journal. That way you can anchor your entries in time and to your daily events/thoughts.
DeleteHugs