Can there ever be enough said about Gratitude? I don't think so.
And talk about a healing balm. Picking up the reins of our mind and turning our thoughts toward thankfulness in any situation shifts the energy instantly and brings about positive change. Not to mention, gratitude is one of the three main types of prayer, commonly known to all of humankind, next to, 'Help,' and 'Silent Union with the Divine.'
So, yes, Gratitude. It is always worthy of mention. And I could almost stop right there, with 'enough said.' But, I'll elaborate just a little more.
Habitually switching our thoughts to gratefulness can take some practice, but it is one of the best ways I know of for coming up out of a funk. One does need to first recognize and realize that a funk has descended. Sometimes we can really get lost in a negative internal mind climate, festering and stewing like an infection.
This is where the idea of 'the witness,' (from Jnana Yoga, from Hinduism,) comes in. Here, there are the two birds sitting in the tree of life. One is busy doing and experiencing all of the activities of life, while the other is just watching. This watching bird, within ourselves is 'the noticer.' And the noticer gives us a little perspective. It notices when we are happy. It notices when we are sad. And it can alert us, as the rider of our own horse of life, when it is time to turn a run-away situation around and head in a different direction, like toward Gratitude.
Listening to the news or just tending to the day-to-day chores or foibles of life can really get us all wound up. But, there is always something to be grateful for, even in moments that can seem quite stinky. If we look, we'll find it. And that gives us our first step up out of that place in our heads. "The sky is a beautiful blue." "I can take a breath." "I'm sitting next to you." There is always something to be grateful for. We can start there.
Huston Smith in his seminal book, The World's Religions, 1958, noted the three types of prayer that I was referring to earlier. Universal to all religions, both oral and written, they are: 1.) The Asking Prayer, "Please help me." 2.) The Prayer of Gratitude, "Thank you." And 3.) The Prayer of Silent Union with The Divine, where we loose our sense of self and become one with everything.
From the asking prayer, I've heard that we can get three different answers: "Yes, of course." "Yes, but later." And, "No, I have something better for you." All worthy of gratitude. And when we loose ourselves in oneness, doing what we absolutely love, be it dancing in the waves or climbing a mountain peak, we have reached a state of bliss and what is not to be grateful for there. So, yes, gratitude. It is what keeps the world going round and helps us to attain humanity's greatest desire, Peace, both within and without.
So, let's pick up the reins, together and come round to a unity of being, reaching for and finding gratitude, as often as possible, in every moment of every day.
