Grounded in Gratitude

Dear Friends,

Welcome to “Grounded in Gratitude,” a five-part email series for restoring balance and renewing trust.

I was inspired to create this series after re-reading Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer, by Brother David Stendl-Rast. This book reminded me that grateful living is a choice we can make every day.

Brother David teaches that grateful living is about recognizing all that life is always giving us, and reminds us that we must “say yes to belonging,” and “trust in life.”

Gratitude feels like a beneficial nutrient to me. It nourishes a sense of valuing all that sustains and cares for us every day. What we tend to is what grows, and then becomes what we feed to ourselves and those around us. What does gratitude and grateful living mean to you at this time in your life?

Please join me in filling yourself, and life, with more gratitude.

Day # 1: Life is a Gift
Over the next five days, I invite you to become more aware of the opportunities you have to choose a grateful way of living.

Reflection:

Gratefulness recognizes, acknowledges, and celebrates each moment. It shapes our perspective, the way we feel about and see ourselves, our lives, and the world. When we choose gratitude, we come to recognize life as a gift that we’re continually receiving moment by moment—our breath, our heartbeat, the air around us, the water we drink, the sunshine, a smile from someone. Gratefulness invites us to reach beyond ourselves and appreciate the gifts we are always receiving.

Brother David writes, “as soon as we awake from taking everything for granted, there is at least a glimmer of surprise and a beginning of gratitude.” (pg. 49)

Practice:

Here’s a Guided Meditation to do at your own pace. I trust it will connect you more deeply with Brother David’s teaching that life is a gift.

pause for a moment
and shift your attention
to the natural rhythm of your breath
allow it to be just as it is—

feel yourself breathing
your lungs expanding
and contracting
as you inhale and exhale—

feel the presence of the breath
flowing in you
in this present moment—

and feel the gift
that this breath is giving to your entire body
right now
oxygenating all your cells
connecting to all the systems in your body—

your breath is breathing you without your effort
about 960 times an hour
breathing you into life—

in this breath, you are connected to all living things
to each other, all plants, animals, trees, the earth
all of us breathing into the same air—

in this breath, we all interconnected
this breath is your steady connection to all of life
and to the generosity of the Source of life—

this breath is a given breath
it is a gift
and as we sit here
breathing with conscious awareness
we can quietly whisper thank you—

Journal Writing

If you’d like, take a few moments to write about what you experienced as you engaged in this practice—any insights, feelings, or sensations in your body that you became aware of. Writing is a way to connect more deeply with ourselves and our experiences.

Living in Gratitude

For today, notice all the ways life is giving to you: the water you drink, the air you breathe, the food you eat, the way your senses take in life, the way your body provides for you, the kindness from a friend, the smile from someone, and so many other ways. Connect with the generosity of life all around you.

Thank you for bringing more gratitude into the world. See you tomorrow for Day #2 of Grounded in Gratitude.

Love,

Colette