Moments of Gratitude
From each of us, there can be a widening of focus toward an awareness of the fullness of being and our place in its current flow. This, too, is an inspiration for me. I think about what it means and what mechanisms are in play in my own knowledge of life from this perspective. I am changed by how I see.
Imagine adopting the practice of grateful seeing, in which the first thing we do when we face any situation is to look for whatever is working in the situation, or whatever we have to be grateful for, or whatever deeper purpose this event might serve, before we go on to worry about what isn’t working, what we don’t have, and what we do want. Asking ‘What’s right here now?’ before we ask ourselves ‘What’s wrong?’ is a structure of attention that could make even a five-minute walk intensely grateful, or a mundane family dinner a feast for our heart.
When I think about my recent grateful-seeing experiences, I recall the momentary ripples of heartfelt appreciation that touched me because I felt them, and the depth of soulful joy that swirled through my body because I opened myself to receive it. I recall it was the smile of a child that calmed me when I chose to be aware of it, the laughter of the children that uplifted me when I became infused by it, and the hug of my husband that sustained me when I opened myself to revel in it.
Stop.Breathe.Look around. See the beauty of the ordinary, the gifts of life, the love of your family, friends, animals, your health, place, home, clothes, food, work — all of it. Be grateful. Be thankful.
But grateful seeing doesn’t come easily. Developing it will often force us to confront the impediments that stand in the way of our experience of gratitude: comparison, envy, greed, anger, the conditioned patterns of thinking that make us narrow and selfish. It means being willing to work around these obstacles, no matter how often we have to get up and start over again in order to bring gratitude alive in our life.
With this in mind, I call upon you to undertake the following practice: Exercise.
Take a few deep breaths, grounding yourself in the present moment.
Now, in your journal, write to this prompt: ‘To what have I shown grateful seeing today? First look for what is already and has always been working in my life — whether or not I’m giving it my attention.’
And let yourself feel what it felt like to have moments of joy and gladness, of love and natural beauty, or just good coffee or good conversation, earlier in the day.
Notice when things are difficult and move towards the truth of the moment with a good heart.
Such a practice of grateful seeing can make our lives more colorful and rich, not only for ourselves but for others, too; it can make the world more abundant, more harmonious, peace-making rather than peace-breaking. So, come with me. Let’s begin again. Let the practice of grateful seeing make your days brighter and your responses more attuned to the needs of others. Let the discipline of grateful seeing slow you down and become as it’s meant to be — a way of enriching your life, one moment at a time.