Take a Cup of Gratitude

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

– Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman, scholar, philosopher, orator.

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fulness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”                                          

– Kahill Gibran, Lebanese-American writer, poet, visual artist.

The fullness of the abundance of the autumn season is upon us. Leaves are changing color, temperatures are becoming brisker, change is in the air. Many of us are beginning to plan for the year-end rush of holidays and family gatherings. It is a time of harvesting, and it is a time for Gratitude.

Perhaps of all the secular celebrations we cherish, “Thanksgiving” is the most inclusive. There is no gift-giving, but we do come together to celebrate our blessings. That is the gift. It is the perfect time to take stock of what we most treasure, and what we have been blessed to receive.

While many holidays emphasize the giving of gifts, this is the opportunity to celebrate what we have received. It has been truly said: “It is better to give than receive”, but it is also true that it is a blessing to appreciate what we have received. I have found innumerable people who are most generous- with their time, their talents, and their treasure. I have also found that many of these same souls do have some difficulty in receiving. For them it is easier to give than to (comfortably) “receive”. Where are you on this spectrum?

Take the time this week to review how you receive. How do you respond when someone pays you a compliment. How do you feel when someone gives you something, perhaps unexpectedly, from their heart. Do you smile and give gracious thanks outwardly, yet perhaps close-down a bit on the inside. I have found only children and pets consistently receive fully. Most of us can improve our (inner) response.

How can we truly tell how our HeartMind is doing in the receiving category? The answer can be very simple- close your eyes and remember the last time you were given something- especially something you had not anticipated. Close your eyes and get back into the scene. Allow yourself to not only see the picture but breathe slowly and feel into your response mechanism. Focus on the qualities in your heart space. Be honest with yourself. Try this with a number of recent memories and then breathe into older scenes…go back into early memories of receiving gifts. Go back to memories when you were complimented on something about yourself- perhaps a project at school, an athletic or creative success, etc. Really drill down on your chest and your feelings. Here is where the wellspring of Gratitude resides. Tapping into our Gratitude response allows us to open the software to receiving even greater gifts…both materially AND spiritually.

As Kahill Gibran reminded us, practice Gratitude in good and abundant times, so we can store up that Divine Quality when it is needed during periods of (apparent) scarcity. What are some of the best approaches?

On the Berkshire CenterPoint website, there are a number of tools. One of my favorites is the Gratitude Prayer:

“I am grateful for all the blessings and lessons of my life. May I remember the former to deal with the latter.”

There are many ways to count one’s blessings: writing them down; meditating on one’s life; asking friends and family; reviewing what is important in your life. Keeping track of what has supported us on our Journey is an essential part of the Gratitude process. As we grow we find ourselves moving away from being grateful for “things”- money, success, etc., and become attracted to the Qualities of the Divine behind the appearances. With sustained effort we become grateful for Love, Joy, Peace, Truth, Beauty, Justice. When we find those qualities manifesting themselves, we become instantly grateful. We can learn to live in a constant state of Gratitude.

What are the signs we are making progress down this road? The first and simplest is being Joyful. Gratitude opens the doorway to Joy, even as Joy opens the doorway to Love, and then to that final entrance to Peace. If we truly seek Peace, we must begin with Gratitude.

The Spiritual practice of Gratitude involves more than a few words of recognition and appreciation of what pleases us, or even loyalty to the apparent provider of our joy. Those may be important as a start, but the deeper practice of Gratitude involves humility and a lifelong commitment to discovering our connection to Source, to the Divine, to God. We are born from Love, and with the power, wisdom, and compassion of Love we can return. Gratitude helps us discover the limitless support of the All. The more grateful we are, the more the Universe can pour in Its Gifts. In the end, infinite Gratitude invites infinite abundance. This abundance is Spiritual, but the Gifts become equally material. The totally open state of genuine Humility, coupled with acts born from a loving Gratitude, allows the Divine to freely dispense Its Gifts and Qualities of Love, Truth, Justice, Beauty, Balance, Joy, Peace into a willing and receptive vessel-You.