Grateful
Today I am grateful for mindful moments throughout my days, when I remember to take them. I am also grateful for the ways others push me to think more openly.
Maybe it seems a bit too likely, but I chose feeling grateful for the letter "g." I start each blog post saying I am grateful for one thing and then another. But I can honestly say there is nothing typical about feeling grateful day after day. It is an emotion that brings a freshness and an energy all its own each time it is fully experienced.
Sitting with feelings, once identified, can be productive time. Even sitting with perplexed bewilderment. Maybe sitting with it allows clarity to come through. Sitting with appreciation, living a grateful existence, is productive too.
One of the criticisms or concerns I sometimes hear about practicing gratitude is that it can make people complacent. What I experience is not complacent or passive. It is peaceful, yet motivating.
Starting with gratitude for what I have in the here and now is just that--a good start. I believe that when I do that, I show more respect and kindness to all around me; both human and other. With that as a catalyst, I move forward. Hopefully my efforts help preserve the good that is already here, while also creating more to contribute, more to offer.
When I embrace grateful living, I am embracing what Brother David Steindl-Rast refers to as "the great fullness of life." That is the opposite of complacency.
Maybe it seems a bit too likely, but I chose feeling grateful for the letter "g." I start each blog post saying I am grateful for one thing and then another. But I can honestly say there is nothing typical about feeling grateful day after day. It is an emotion that brings a freshness and an energy all its own each time it is fully experienced.
Sitting with feelings, once identified, can be productive time. Even sitting with perplexed bewilderment. Maybe sitting with it allows clarity to come through. Sitting with appreciation, living a grateful existence, is productive too.
One of the criticisms or concerns I sometimes hear about practicing gratitude is that it can make people complacent. What I experience is not complacent or passive. It is peaceful, yet motivating.
Starting with gratitude for what I have in the here and now is just that--a good start. I believe that when I do that, I show more respect and kindness to all around me; both human and other. With that as a catalyst, I move forward. Hopefully my efforts help preserve the good that is already here, while also creating more to contribute, more to offer.
When I embrace grateful living, I am embracing what Brother David Steindl-Rast refers to as "the great fullness of life." That is the opposite of complacency.
Yeah for the "great fullness of life."
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