I like to think about gratitude as a “state of being”, but I am searching to learn how to keep myself in that “state” throughout the days and weeks. On tennessean.com I found an opinion piece by Bishop Joseph W. Walker III about gratitude. One particular point he made was:
Add up the things in your life that money cannot buy.
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I just watched the movie Nomadland (2020), about a woman living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad, traveling through the American West after she loses everything in a recession. It was an interesting snapshot with persons I have met, especially during this pandemic. It seems that we are all managing our daily joys and problems, as best we can according to our personalities and temperaments.
I love water. I love the ocean, so when I came across an article on the Big Five personality traits from Wikipedia, known as the OCEAN model, I took a closer look. The model identifies five traits:
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Last year I made a YouTube video titled “Through” on my YouTube Channel, Aspiring through healing to health and wellness, and learned the mighty power of one little word “THROUGH“. I had forgotten about that video until this morning when I came across an article titled, “9 Eye-Opening Ways to Expand Your Empathy and Gratitude” by Chris Holder. Hence, I am reminded of the power of words and when attached to images, change is amazingly possible. Through our words and images, especially on social media today, we motivate others to action.
Dr. Holder describes 9 actions we may each choose to keep us in a “State of Grace”. When I got to his number 4, I paused:
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Yesterday was a beautiful day, full of sunshine, so I went to the ocean. The sunset was lovely, families were on the beach, and all seemed well. When I returned home, I flipped on the TV and watched the terrible news about the freezing crisis in Texas, the power outages, the burst water pipes, and I felt awful watching those suffering families.
I wonder how can I feel two emotions, gratitude and empathy, in a matter of moments? Is it ok to feel blessed by the weather near my home while feeling horror watching the weather just a few States away? The suffering of the children in Texas is difficult to watch against the joy of the children on the beaches in California.
Najma Khorrami, in Psychology Today, described how empathy and gratitude are linked to each other through an explanation of neuroscience.
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People are so meaningful in our lives. It is interesting for me to listen to others’ impressions and expectations for these posts. Some of you love “the photos” in each post; others love “the written words”. You are building a community of “gratitude expressers”daily, and my sincere appreciation to each of you for your kindness. In response, my intention is to be a stimulus for our community. But, my questions for today, include:
Should we deliberately find an event, or act about which to express gratitude today? Or
Should we randomly go about the action of “everyday responsibilities” and wait to see if we see or feel gratitude?
Look at this bird, freely flying through the air. Do you think the bird flight is purposeful or random? Maybe the bird enjoys both. Maybe the bird doesn’t care where he is going; he is just hanging around.
My friend “Siri” tells us that to be purposeful is to be determined, intentional, or to have a useful resolve. She notes that random is made without “conscious decision”, unspecified, unfamiliar, having an equal chance to happen, unusual, unexpected, or unknown.
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As I examined the wooded setting of Airy the RV in the photo above, I found pleasure in the breaking of dawn through the trees, as well as in the lit underbelly of the coach. Both types of lighting touched my mind’s eye and I asked why? One light protected me near the the RV, while the other protected my early morning drive from deer leaping, or hikers walking.
One light is man-made and artificial; the other is God made and natural. Jill Harness noted on hunker.com that there are several differences between natural and artificial light, between firelight and candle light, and fluorescent bulbs, flashlights, or sunlight. There are a surprising number of differences between light sources found in nature versus electronic sources.
The intensity of light, the duration of light, and
the amount of light is only under your control with artificial lighting.
I made a note to myself to ask “Do I have control of my life’s light?”
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It is happening, now… Gratitude Squared is multiplying… Oh Happy Day!
Friends, peers, colleagues, strangers, and family are talking about “Gratitude”. They are sharing their own stories about being grateful, and/or joyous about various experiences in their life.
There is “positivity in the air”!
As the author of these blogs, I am watching the radius of circles rolling out as these “posts” are thrown out into the world, similar to dropping a pebble into a pond and being mesmerized by the perfect circles formed after the entry of the stone, falling into the deep waters.
People need each other so often form various groups, for friendship, for play, for spiritual blessings…
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Given the snow and ice across the country today, I thought I might select a contrasting photo for our discussion as, at least to me, this photo conveys peacefulness, calm, sunshine and beauty. But, remember the old adage, “You can’t tell a book by its cover”? This is Airy the Airstream, a new touring coach.
What you do NOT see in the photo are the zip ties holding the awning on so that it does not open out while driving on the freeways and injure someone, and you do NOT see all the duck tape on the side of the coach holding the panels and badging from flapping in the wind and maybe blowing off the frame to expose the metal chassis. You also would NEVER know that the radio was not properly connected so that there is no music to enhance the drive. The bed in the back does NOT go down but rather pulls the entire frame out and rips the mattress, and there is more that is wrong, currently with Airy.
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You might ask, Why practice gratitude? The disciplined focus on gratitude should not be approached from the perspective of “what’s in it for me?”, but rather, consider what fills your own heart so that you are moved to attend to and appreciate events in your life in new ways.
Continue readingGratitude is a fullness of heart that moves you from limitation and fear to expansion and love. When you’re appreciating something, your ego moves out of the way. You can’t have your attention on ego and gratitude at the same time.
Deepak Chopra
Reflecting on the typical symbols and icons on this day, I wondered why the color “red” became so meaningful and learned (with Siri’s help) that red “creates feelings of excitement and intensity”. I know those strong feelings when in love! Then, I read a little more and found that the color “red” “is also used to warn of danger and can symbolize anger or passion (calling to mind the Flames of Love)”. This statement caused me to pause….. It reminded me of my post from yesterday describing the full range of gratitude (from frivolous to serious). I kept reading…
My next question was to understand the association between the heart and valentine, and/or the heart and love. Siri was wonderfully helpful to explain the rich history of the heart and Valentine’s Day (from the shape of an ancient plant to our actual physical hearts in our chests to jewelry and more). When I read about Venus, the goddess of love, I was struck by the story of her son Cupid, whose darts set hearts on fire! Hence, I began to understand the age-old connections between Flames of Love (red) and Hearts on Fire, and a deeper meaning for this very special day began to take shape …
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