There are few practices I know as effective at creating a beautiful mind as gratitude.

Instant ego dissolution, instant unclenching, instant humility, instant peace.

When we remember to remove ourselves from the glaring spotlight of our own incessant self-concern and step back into a much wider and more generous view, our minds and brains suddenly relax; in fact, our entire body takes a breath. Have you ever noticed that involuntary inhalation right after you feel some appreciation?

As human beings, we walk around this planet very entitled – naming, taming, conquering, claiming, owning, using, using up… Why? The infinite intricacies of karma and our souls’ journey aside, none of us planned to be here, at least from the perspective of our personalities. We are born into lives we didn’t create, and the maintenance of our lives is completely dependent on forces beyond our control. None of us “deserves” what we have, whether glamorous or extremely horrid circumstances. It’s not about deserving. The mystery is much larger than our particular place in it. And at the other end of this adventure, until we master matter and transcend the rules of the time-space continuum, it appears that none of us gets out of here alive. We certainly can’t take it with us.

So why do we hold on, thinking there’s never enough, always craving more, rather than allowing ourselves to be continually amazed and thankful for this sumptuous feast called life, offered to us day in and day out, regardless of whether we partake?

I can’t answer that for you. I can only answer it for myself.

I forget. I get caught in lack. Shoulds. Needing or wanting approval. Stories about how I was or wasn’t seen. The myriad places I lost my voice.

Fear, mostly. Fear of the dark.

I am so grateful each time I remember to come back to gratitude. The thing that gets me beyond myself also helps me to land in myself more fully, more completely, more whole. And I’m always glad to be home.

***

Giving Thanks

Looking at this winter blackness called night.
Crystals twinkle through light years I know nothing of.
Each star gifts, surprising me with tears.
I gather them deep inside my pockets
for illuminating my way
through every other dark night
when the sky clouds with rain or exhaust or inner smog.
The stars jingle in my pocket, sparkling.
Sensing them, I laugh and the sky clears. 

***

Here are a few other treasures I have stashed in my “pockets” over the years.

The first is from the Persian poet Hafiz:

And still, after all this time,
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe Me.”

Look what happens with
A love like that,

It lights the Whole Sky.

I’ll finish with this quote from the German theologian, philosopher, and mystic, Meister Eckhart:

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘Thank You,’  it will be enough.”

Thank you. 🙏