So, here is what I’m discovering so far in my personal 40 Days of Gratitude: gratitude is a muscle that needs to be trained and strengthened like any other muscle.
Wow, mine has gotten very flabby indeed.
And yet, if it’s true (and I think it is) that we tend to find what we’re looking for in life—that our expectations shape our reality—paying attention to opportunities for gratitude, seeking out the things that delight us, are all ways in which we can shape our reality and our world for the better.
Think about it. We can actually tilt ourselves and our world toward happiness, toward thanksgiving and joy, simply by what we choose to pay attention to. The more we intentionally seek out those things which delight us and give thanks for them, the more practiced we become in noticing them in the first place.
And here’s the thing.
Those things we find to be grateful for were there all along. Waiting to be noticed.
What a tragic waste, an unconscionable neglect, that so many of God’s gracious gifts to us go unacknowledged. That we close our eyes to joy and blessing and pay for our neglect with our own restlessness and unhappiness.
Remember the story about Jesus healing the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19)? Only the Samaritan came back to give thanks after being healed. Jesus says something puzzling to him. Jesus told him “Your faith has made you well.”
Now that’s only puzzling until you realize that the word translated as ‘faith’ can also mean ‘thanks’ or ‘thanksgiving.’ Suddenly, it’s clear. God blesses us, God heals us, but we are made well by giving thanks.
So, here’s an exercise for your “giving thanks” practice this week. It’s really very simple. We breathe thousands of times a day, every 3 to 5 seconds. Even more when we’re exerting ourselves.
For the most part, we never give our breathing a second thought, do we? We’re not even aware that we are breathing. We have other things to think about.
Our very lives depend on our breathing and we’re not even conscious we’re doing it. Talk about a metaphor!
So, take a few moments to focus attention on your breathing. Take a deep breath. Feel its cleansing. Breathe into your stomach, feel it expand as your lungs fill with air. And realize, as you do, that the air you are taking in is a gift from God. Every time you breathe in the air necessary for your life, God is saying “yes” to your life, affirming your place in creation. Every 3 to 5 seconds!
So, listen to God’s affirmation of you, experience God’s ‘yes’ to your life, as you breathe in. You might even say the word “yes” in your mind as you inhale. And as you exhale, offer your response to this gift. “Thank you.”
Try taking a few minutes of your day, just to sit quietly and enjoy breathing. Being aware of God’s “yes” to your life as you breathe in, giving thanks for the gift as you breathe out.
Meister Eckhardt once said, “If the only prayer you pray in your life is ‘thank you’ it is enough.”
Charles Oberkehr 