Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity. I sure hope you know what you’re doing.
I’m not a religious person. In fact, I don’t intellectually believe in a theist god, one who gets involved in the affairs of humans. But that doesn’t mean that prayer isn’t the most empowering approach when things go wrong. The above prayer popped into my mind one day as a metaphor for what I wanted as my approach to life. It has a certain amount of humor in it, and it recognizes that we don’t have to like what is going on. But it also affirms my willingness to keep open to life and to be grateful.
An article written by Peggy Senger Parsons, entitled The Spiritual Discipline of Gratitude, explains how she learned to integrate that practice into her everyday life. It’s very hard to do at times, she points out. But the rewards are enormous:
If I start and end my day with gratitude, nothing that happens in between has the power to ruin tomorrow.
That’s the best explanation I’ve heard of why gratitude has such a profound effect on our health and happiness. The more we can appreciate our lives, the less emotional baggage we have to carry around. Gratitude is liberating and empowering. It’s an attitude well worth practicing.
Picture by The Marmot at Flickr. Creative Commons License.
For related articles see Rx for Life: Gratitude and The Wisdom of Warren Buffett.
I find gratitude is very useful for redirecting your attitude and thoughts. It’s funny to see this today – I going to write an article for tomorrow’s blog on this topic.
P.S. Thanks for your great comments on my site today. I’ve already added replies.
I think practicing gratitude can make such a difference in the quality of life for anyone who considers it a way of life. I also wrote an article on having an “attitude of gratitude”. It’s easy to lose track of where you’re at when you focus on all the things that aren’t right about your situation. Practicing gratitude grounds in what is good and just by doing that, you’re life becomes better. Great post.
I agree that gratitude is of paramount importance. When we offer gratitude w e appreciate that life is more than just about ourselves. It helps create a oneness with others.
This is a poignant lesson and one I can attest works wonderfully as I have put it into practice on a couple of occasions.
In 1993, my firstborn child, a baby girl, passed away moments after her birth due to a coincidental calamity in her chromosomes – Trisomy 18 which is similar to Down’s Syndrome but a different, lower chromosome and almost always resulting in death if the child makes it to delivery even.
In the days following her passing I floundered – naturally. I could not imagine life going forward. As we traveled south on I-25 on our way to a hike so her dad could spend time in the woods to help heal his wounded heart, I felt the tightness within my chest as my tension escalated at the thought of driving past exit to the hospital where our daughter Deidra was born and as it was all too evident that life really was going to go forward whether I was ready or not.
I recalled the kindness of the people at the hospital who cared for her and for me as they delicately handled one detail after another in her arrival and departure, including preserving my hope of having future children. I wondered if the physicians, nurses, aides and staff ever got ‘thank you’ notes for the kindnesses that they extend and decided they needed to know that their compassion and care had touched our lives in remarkable ways and had been deeply appreciated.
I knew I had reached a turning point in what can easily be described as one of the worst times of my life when I let go of the focus of my loss to rejoice in the renewal of my faith in mankind.
The second instance is still a work in progress as I try to overcome my inertia following my 12-year old son’s completion of over 2 years of treatment for high-risk, t-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
I’ll check back and peruse through more of your blogs as I feel these are lessons that may be exactly what I need.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. It touched my heart.
To start the day by expressing gratitude and to feel free remarking gratitude aloud throughout the day can enable you to revitalize your soul. When you send out positive energy, it comes back to you in abundance from unexpected sources.
oh my. bren/cody’s mom
has made me speechless.
such grace.
such grief.
love to her wherever she is now.
love.
I could not agree more. It is the only way to go.