Gratitude
Gratitude has become something of a buzz word in recent years. I was in an exercise class once when the teacher handed us each small brown notebooks and called it our "gratitude journals." He wanted us to make a regular practice of listing what we were grateful for, as a way to integrate our physical workout with our mental state. It was a pretty great idea, but I am not sure how many people took him up on it!
What is it about reflective practices that has some of us resisting to the point of avoiding anything that looks like sitting still? Perhaps we are scared of what we will find if we simply stop and listen to what our own hearts are saying. Maybe we know that we would need to act on what we hear. Admittedly, for some of us, that can feel overwhelming.
We don't need a season marked "Thanksgiving" in order to express our gratitude, but why not take advantage of the fact that this is a time when hearts turn toward thankfulness for all that we have been given? Maybe you could jot down a few things you are thankful for. Or, simply ponder the fact that you have your needs provided for when so many people around the world do not. Could there be a way to channel your gratitude into serving another person today? Service that flows from gratitude, rather than obligation, is the best kind!
I read a book last year called, "How To Tell A Story" by leaders of The Moth storytellers group. Founding board member, Judith Stone, describes the power a story can have on the listener, "...we listeners are almost always granted the pleasure of simultaneously losing ourselves and finding ourselves in the story. We're restored to compassion and possibility and reconnected to our messy, marvelous, exasperating, exalted human community." Isn't that a quote just chock full of good things?!
Although I could write much about each part of Stone's observation, I want to focus on that little phrase "restored to compassion and possibility." I feel so much gratitude to be in a place where I have been restored to possibility. Life flows when we are actively experiencing possibility and compassion. Life awakens inside of us when we feel the potential of good on the horizon. That life can't help but swirl around us onto others as a result! Compassion animates our sense of belonging and fills us with grace to welcome others into the fold of community. Conversely, life is halted, stalled or even stopped when we no longer have hope for something more or when we are isolated from sharing the gift of heart exchanges with another.
Some of us may not feel very near to possibility today as we near the end of the year. The promise of newness and hope may elude us right now. Some of us long to be "restored to compassion and possibility." One place where we could start to move toward hope is to remember a part of our story when we experienced possibility glimmering through a new beginning and turning into something good. Perhaps someone else's story could also reignite a spark of hope as we allow compassion for ourselves and others to seep into the beginning of this new year. Gratitude will follow. Let's look for ways to be "restored to compassion and possibility" as we prepare to begin the journey through 2024.