Grace & Gratitude

Grace and Gratitude…Gratitude and Grace. One tree with many branches. The root of this tree is the Latin word “gratia”. In its original usage it had many connotations: “Favor, esteem, kindness, pleasure”. Over the millennia the branches have spread, and we have learned to move effortlessly from one usage to another. At that annual celebration of Gratitude we call Thanksgiving, there is often a prayer…someone says “Grace”. One meaning of “Grace” is that of unmerited, unearned divine assistance. When we say “Grace”, we recognize that we are the beneficiaries from the store of a Divine Cornucopia. This is one of the many ways that Grace and Gratitude find common cause in our lives. We are grateful for what has been given to us.

Prayer is one of the ways we can consciously participate in this Good of God. The type of prayer that reflects this union of Gratitude and Grace is called the Prayer of Beholding. In this mode we are not asking for something…that would be an Intercessory Prayer, where we want, or need, something, and we reach out beyond ourselves to some Higher Power or Agency for assistance. “There is a spill on aisle 5…”, please help clean it up, etc.  There is nothing wrong with this type of Prayer. It is human and is one of the many tools in our Spiritual Toolbox. This Intercessory Prayer type is often most effective when we ask for some positive outcome for someone else.

The Prayer of Beholding seeks just to be Grateful, and to be Grateful for the All that is Given. It really allows us entry into “Heaven”, that Higher state of Consciousness where we truly Live and Breathe.

There is no one form for Prayers of Beholding. It can be that thought/feeling parents have when their child first draws breath, or when that toddler manages its first steps. It may happen when we see that rainbow after a storm- be it a weather phenomenon, or that “rainbow” of relief after we have survived some traumatic or disturbing personal event. Something has shifted, something that we did not create, and we are o.k. That feeling of relief and conscious recognition that “something more” was involved is one form of the Prayer of Beholding.

I have shared another form with students over the years: “I am a child of God (or the Divine, or the Universe), loved unconditionally. Wherever I am, God (or the Divine, or the Universe) is”. Wherever God (or the Divine, or the Universe) is, I am. You can create your own Prayer. Think of some memory where you experienced some Divine Intervention, or some Transcendent moment in your Life. Then close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and get back to memory in as full a capacity as you can muster. Then put your awareness into your heart space. Follow that feeling and see what prayer emerges in your HeartMind. Put your hands together, say it, and then…Smile.

When we are Divinely Grateful, we will truly experience the awesome of Grace. We then begin to see It everywhere. All aspects of Grace reveal themselves. Grace manifesting as charm, pleasantness, balance and poise. Grace as mercy, Grace as forgiveness. Finally, Grace as that Gift from the Divine that is beyond merit, beyond understanding.

When we open to this Fullness of the qualities of Grace, we can endure all things. We will become a New Person that will be a truly beneficial Presence in all that we do, and with all whom we meet. We will be increasingly filled with Gratitude for all- the Good and the Bad. This is an important key to Equilibrium.

We are entering into the Dark of the Year. That point that we call the Winter Solstice. There is an opportunity to experience this time as an opportunity…an opportunity to connect with Spiritual Light, Spiritual Qualities. The alternative is to experience overwhelm, separation, even sadness. We are, in the cycle of the year, almost at the threshold of a New Year. Take some time to reflect upon all that has Graced your Life; all for which you are Grateful. Then Smile, and share it with the next person you meet, and to all you know and love. Take a moment to share it, in some meaningful and tangible way, with Those who are less fortunate. You will then be truly Twice Blessed.