On gratitude, from beginning to end

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” – Ralph Blum

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks… 
I Thessalonians 5:16-18

For the past seven years I’ve been sending out this monthly wellness email and it has been life giving for me.

Lately though, with over a year of house remodel and other significant life events, my energy is at a lower point, and I’ve not been as excited to write the regular email. It’s only my reserves that have dwindled, certainly not my love and care for you all who read this. I am hugely grateful for you.

This month’s missive is a last (at least for awhile, maybe for good?) of the wellness emails.

Because I need so desperately to return again and again to a central discipline, I close with some reminders around gratitude: a few easy suggestions for practicing gratitude, just one study among many, and some quotes.

Before going on I want to emphasis how sincerely my heart wishes you all deep wellness in spirit, soul, and body.

May all goodness and lovingkindness be yours.

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” 
— Thornton Wilder

A few easy gratitude practices

1) Ask yourself daily: For what moment today am I most grateful? Maybe recall three things, and write them down.

Some other examen questions -- [From Sleeping with Bread by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn]

- When did I give and receive the most / least love today?
- When did I feel most alive / life draining out of me today?
- When was I happiest / saddest today?
- What was today’s high / low point?

2) Make it a practice to tell a spouse, partner, or friend something you appreciate about them every day.

3) Look in the mirror, and think about something you have done well recently or something you like about yourself.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 
— Albert Einstein

A research study, that reveals more aliveness even in the midst of unpleasant

In a study conducted at Eastern Washington University, participants were randomly assigned to one of three writing groups that would recall and report on an unpleasant open memory—a loss, a betrayal, victimization, or some other personally upsetting experience:

*the first group wrote for 20 minutes on issues that were irrelevant to their open memory,

*the second wrote about their experience pertaining to their open memory,

*the third group wrote about on the positive aspects of a difficult experience—they were instructed to discover what about it might now make them feel grateful.

Results showed that they demonstrated more closure and less unpleasant emotional impact.

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. 
And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law:

the more you have and are grateful for,

the more will be given you.”

— Sarah Ban Breathnach

Grateful Sigh

..soil, sky and sea sigh

gratitude from low and high

we, us, you and I...

~romeo naces

“Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted–a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” — Rabbi Harold Kushner

A Morning Offering

“All that is eternal in me

Welcomes the wonder of this day

The field of brightness it creates

Offering time for each thing

To arise and illuminate

May my mind come alive today

To the invisible geography

That invites me to new frontiers…”

 - John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us