Love and Gratitude
Love is a simple word with a complex existence. It means something to everyone, from loving food to loving our mother. Without love our existence is barren. We all love something even if we are grouchy. We all love something even if we have buried it so deep that we can't express it.
Gratitude falls right into line behind love. Gratitude unlocks the door to our love. With gratitude our love can magnify whatever we put our attention on. On the days when we struggle to express or feel love, we can find something to be grateful for on purpose. If you flushed a toilet today you can express gratitude for running water. If you are struggling to be grateful for flushing a toilet, imagine squatting over a hole to do your business. Maybe that hole is tile-lined and maybe there is a huge tub of water with a dipping pot so that you might throw water at yourself to clean up. Your American great-grandparents all know what it is like to walk in the dark outside to an outhouse where if they were wealthy there would be toilet paper and if they weren't, there would be magazine pages and corn cobs. I have never had to experience the corn cobs but I have experienced several versions of holes in Indonesia and out houses in the United States. After my one and only magazine experience I found a way to take something else into the out house with me. It is far more rewarding to look at indoor plumbing with gratitude than it is to be indignant about the other options.
I know people who enjoy being grouchy and ungrateful. It can be addicting the same way as nicotine is addicting. I love it when I can stand steady in my love and gratitude while in the company of these people. I don't usually hang out there very long but it is my challenge to allow them to keep their attitude while I maintain mine. I don't have to give away my good feelings just because it entertains them to disillusion me.
When political and religious distractions take precedence over gratitude, people become judgmental and unhappy. They are all part of life but your life experience is dictated by the order in which you apply them.
My challenge to you is to notice that you love something every day. Feel grateful for something every day. Allow the feelings that come with that to wash over you and then attempt to stay in that state of existence for as long as possible as you go about your day. Do it on purpose.
Gratitude falls right into line behind love. Gratitude unlocks the door to our love. With gratitude our love can magnify whatever we put our attention on. On the days when we struggle to express or feel love, we can find something to be grateful for on purpose. If you flushed a toilet today you can express gratitude for running water. If you are struggling to be grateful for flushing a toilet, imagine squatting over a hole to do your business. Maybe that hole is tile-lined and maybe there is a huge tub of water with a dipping pot so that you might throw water at yourself to clean up. Your American great-grandparents all know what it is like to walk in the dark outside to an outhouse where if they were wealthy there would be toilet paper and if they weren't, there would be magazine pages and corn cobs. I have never had to experience the corn cobs but I have experienced several versions of holes in Indonesia and out houses in the United States. After my one and only magazine experience I found a way to take something else into the out house with me. It is far more rewarding to look at indoor plumbing with gratitude than it is to be indignant about the other options.
I know people who enjoy being grouchy and ungrateful. It can be addicting the same way as nicotine is addicting. I love it when I can stand steady in my love and gratitude while in the company of these people. I don't usually hang out there very long but it is my challenge to allow them to keep their attitude while I maintain mine. I don't have to give away my good feelings just because it entertains them to disillusion me.
When political and religious distractions take precedence over gratitude, people become judgmental and unhappy. They are all part of life but your life experience is dictated by the order in which you apply them.
My challenge to you is to notice that you love something every day. Feel grateful for something every day. Allow the feelings that come with that to wash over you and then attempt to stay in that state of existence for as long as possible as you go about your day. Do it on purpose.
Comments
Post a Comment