Gratitude - Not One Day a Year

 

Thursday is our Day of Thanks but the next day was the epitome of consumerism – Black Friday. In addition, stores start vying for customers with Christmas sales and what I call the Season of Gimme, Gimme starts. How can we break this cycle? 

Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chief said, “When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living.” 

Giving thanks helps us to count our blessings and realize the richness of our lives. 

When I do spiritual counseling, I often recommend that people begin Gratitude Journals. Over the years, there have been a few folks who have commented on how keeping a Gratitude Journal has helped them realize how blessed they are, in spite of various hardships and traumas. 

Working with immigrants and refugees, being involved in several nonprofit organizations, I am acutely aware of just how privileged we are. Even with all the up and downs of the economy, we still have so much to be grateful for in comparison with to our siblings in under-developed nations. 

Professor and author Brené Brown wrote, “What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.” Gratitude helps us to see that we are blessed. When we realize that we are blessed, then we can find ways to bless others. 

Here is a story to illustrate this gratitude theory. 

Once upon a time in a town like this, there was a couple. They had met late in life, just as each began to think they would never find a “true” love. 

Not long into their life together the wife became seriously ill. She was in constant pain from several operations, yet she never complained. Her husband gave thanks for their time together. She told anyone who listened how grateful she was for the doctors who saved her life and for her husband who took care of her without complaint. 

Several years later, the husband lost his job. Unemployment hardly covered the mortgage payments. Yet, every week they would give thanks for what they had...each other, a warm home, music to fill their days, books to read and a garden to tend. Very few people knew the hard times that had hit them. 

Eventually, the husband found a new job. It paid less, had few benefits, and kept him away from his beloved wife for most of the day. On top of this, the little savings they had were gone. They had no “extras” to cover emergencies. But, they had each other, their little garden, and the ability to create luscious meals from a can of beans and some rice. Food for kings, they would say! 

Finally, things got pretty bleak. A recession hit; his company downsized once again causing him to draw unemployment. Not to be dismayed, they discovered creative ways to manage their bills. 

A friend who knew the couple well asked, “How can you stay so positive?” 

To the friend’s astonishment, they replied, “We have each other. What more do we need?” 

The Dalai Lama gives sage advice we can all practice. He said, “Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to be angry and think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” 

Being grateful enable us to do amazing things. We can find something to be grateful for even with all the economic hardships. We can find gratitude even when our health fails. We can find something to give thanks for even after our heart has been broken. When this happens, we realize how rich we are. This realization is like a Light that brightens the darkest moments in our lives. 

Gratitude, when practiced daily, opens our minds up to a new perspective, a new world view, if you will. Gratitude helps us to see what is essential. Gratitude enables us to remain in the eye of any storm and raises us up above life’s floods.