And This is the Greatest Gift of All

Flowing from head through heart, manifested in our thoughts and actions, gratitude impacts every aspect of our lives.  This is a big statement, but one that I live by.

Years ago, during a time of personal stress and upheaval, a friend offered me this mantra.  “I am so very grateful for absolutely everything.  I have no regrets what so ever!” 

I thought she was crazy.  And said so. 

 

She affirmed that it was essential to work with the mantra exactly as it was offered; part of its effectiveness being the ludicrously superlative language, ‘absolutely everything’ and ‘NO regrets what so ever’. 

We practiced chanting the mantra together.  Eventually the ridiculousness of the statements got to me and I sort of snorted. Soon I giggled.  And then laughed.   She joined my laughter saying, “it really does work, doesn’t it?”

And then I got it.  The statement helped me reach beyond my current reality and readjust the relationship between my long standing habit of angst and my growing desire for peace.

I have used this mantra for a long time.  It consistently changes my outlook. The times when I have had to stretch the most were the times when it was most effective. 

If you are in need, give it a try…..

But what I really want to talk about today is gratitude itself.  Gratitude, the centerpiece of the mantra. 

Currently I am in the States, visiting with family, and preparing to celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving.  In my family Thanksgiving is the biggest holiday of the year, a time when where ever we are, we find a way to come together. 

There was a time that the focus of the holiday, other than over eating, was just being together.  As we have all grown, the ritual of noticing and expressing gratitude has deepened. 

Starting with a quick ‘gratitude go-round’ the table before eating when the children were young, now we take many moments throughout the days of preparations to be touched by tenderness. 

In these moments we recognize and honour that each of us has come far to be together.  We set aside irritations arising from our differences and focus on the ways we love and support each other.  We do this because we can, we can choose to support the love between us rather than the differences that divide us.

We acknowledge that each of us has taken this time-out-of-time to recognize the treasure we give each other through our simple presence.

And this is the greatest gift of all.