Feeling grateful for what we have too often occurs to us only at peak moments, like at birthdays, promotions, graduations, events like this. What would it take to feel more grateful on a more routine basis, just a little each day, without any particularly noteworthy event pushing us? Let’s consider some possibilities.
Have you ever traveled to a vacation spot in the mountains or to the seashore and then stopped, marveling at how breathtaking a sight it is? Or do you just glance at your surroundings and move on, looking for the next viewscape around the corner up ahead? That’s what I call “not being where you’re at”…it’s all about being “where you’re about to be”. Not being “in the present” like this is a blueprint for disabling your sense of gratitude. Feeling grateful requires we take in what we are encountering. Quick question – have you ever eaten a meal too fast? Please notice that when you do, you won’t taste your food – and then feeling satisfied is not a possibility. The opposite of “eating too fast” is what’s necessary for real enjoyment. Gratitude is what happens to us when we truly take in and appreciate what’s in front of us.
It’s been reported that most of us living in the USA have a standard of living enjoyed by only ½ of 1% of the entire world’s population. Even if that statistic is incorrect by 50% it’s still a staggering number. How many of us are aware of this reality, and how many of us actually feel as though we’re this level of fortunate? My guess – not many of us. I think most of us take for granted how we live, and of course, this leads to not feeling much gratitude. What can we do about it? Open our eyes and realize what we indeed do have!
Spend some time this week considering the freedoms we have living in our country. We get to worship as we please. We have routine elections where we get to voice our choices. Although we do have local strife and national issues to wrestle with, we’re not suffering from all-encompassing civil wars. We have predictability and stability in many aspects of our everyday lives. Are we grateful enough for these blessings or do we fall into taking them for granted? Give some energy to considering these things…where do you stand?
Chase E. Kneeland, M.Div. LMFT 