Fully Experience

Today I am grateful for a run outside yesterday and the right attire for the conditions. I am 
also grateful for the memories evoked by looking at photos. 

I just started reading Brother David Steindl-Rast's latest book, titled i am through you so i. It is a unique approach to an autobiography. I discovered his writing and his life’s work several years ago and the pivotal quote that is my blog header. These words are the truth I keep returning to and my motivation to live gratefully. 

"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, 

but gratefulness that makes us happy."   

The happiness referred to here is more a peace and contentment. Not the happy face of today's culture which tends to be both elusive to catch and fleeting when it happens. Today's quest for happiness is literally making people sick. That is why Brother David's message is so important. 

I try to read, watch, and listen to books, videos, podcasts, etc. that include him. He is a true inspiration with his humble presence and wisdom. I have never met him in person, but I feel a connection to this 91-year-old Benedictine monk. As someone striving to live gratefully, he offers simple and profound guidance to me and many others. 

So I always perk up when I see another quote from him, like this one:

“I am grateful, allowing my emotions fully to taste and to express the joy I have received. And thus I make it flow back to its source by returning thanks. The whole person is involved, when we give thanks from our hearts. The heart is that center in which the human person is one. The intellect recognizes the gift as gift. The will acknowledges my dependence. The emotions, like a sounding board, give fullness to the melody of this experience.”

Living gratefully is a whole body experience and he captures that so well in these words. You want a health restorative and a good exercise? Try living gratefully and with mindful presence. It is a wonderful antidote to all that may ail us in body, mind, heart, and soul. It's not a magic pill or miracle cure, it is a daily action that leads to positive results. I am living proof of that, as are many others, including Brother David. 

Fully experience today. See what you notice in this next moment, then the next.