This morning I stood on the pier and watched all the surfers waiting in the water for the perfect wave to catch. They waited a long time, then tried one, and it passed over them. Next one guy tried again. Several guys had a few brief runs. Others sat on their boards in the water, relaxing, watching, and learning about the ocean; looking for the best wave of the day to try again. Apparently, surfers love this process.
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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 seems important that we ask “What is gratitude”? Where does gratitude come from? Can anybody find gratitude? Is gratitude derived from giving or receiving, or both? These questions and the answers may offer us significant directions along our journeys and pathfinding to gratitude.
If we consider the event of dying as a stimulus, for example, has does knowing one is dying trigger the feeling of gratitude? Or, if we feel deeply moved during a beautiful sunset, or when proudly watching our young child perform a speaking part in a school play, or watching a dog scratch his back on the grass, from where does this emotion we call gratitude come? Gratitude is an emotion of thankfulness. It feels good. It is a form of pleasure, and positivity in life. It may be related to a positive mood, or memorable action, or creative idea. Gratitude has also been described as a spiritual discipline, or a grateful heart.
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This is your special day! Consider what makes you happy? Do you love to travel to beautiful places like National Parks, museums, flower markets, waterfalls, lakes, gardens, churches, concerts, family gatherings? Do you enjoy being with people or alone? What do you wish for, if you had the time and/or money? What do you enjoy when you have the time? Some people love parties or movies or games. Some people love to hike or exercise or listen to music, or all of the above. Some of you would appreciate an extra hour of sleep because you work long hours to care for your family. Whatever you are forced to do during each and every day, where might you find your joy each day? Is it tucking your children into bed, or peeking at them while they sleep? Does your pleasure come from your dog or cat greeting you when you come home? Or/and, do you find deeply moving moments as you read your Bible or experience your spiritual discoveries as you reflect upon God? Or, do you love nature, gardening, farming, and harvesting some of your own food from your own garden? My point is that we all experience a feeling of gratitude which feels more or less the same, but the source of that feeling may come from vastly different causes or stimulations or events within each of our lives, because we are all different people. What I am inviting you to seek is “gratitude”, your “gratitude”, during each and every day. This blog is a guide to finding and uncovering, or seeking little moments for which you will be so grateful. The term “g squared” means that together we will multiply your gratitude, and generate a foundation on which you may build to get you through your tough times.
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