Gratitude for the Banquet of Life - Part I

As we move into the holy days of three spiritual traditions, I offer these thoughts on three ways that we can improve our "gratitude attitude"—approaching life as a banquet, a feast—even in what feels like challenging times. 

(Part I appears today. Part II will be posted on Friday.)

Grateful for the Banquet of Life

Part I

Each fall and winter, I find myself falling into the lap of gratitude. Perhaps it’s the changing of seasons, or the simple knowing that significant holidays are around the corner, that I sink into feelings of appreciation for life, and my life, in particular.

For many of us, 2011 has been a year of unexpected ups and downs. My own life is no exception. What comes to mind, however, is how we can still set a place for gratitude at the table of life, despite having plates laden with reality-jarring experiences. Can we be grateful for all that is, and even all that is not?

One day, as I sat in my local library, pondering these exact questions (and admittedly, feeling a bit sorry for myself—it was one of those days), I looked up to discover a book on the new arrivals shelf calling out to me: How We Behave at the Feast: Reflections on Living in an Age of Plenty, by Dwight Currie. Turning to the first page, this is what I read:

“Never before in human history have so many of us luxuriated in pleasures once reserved for royalty. Look at the comforts, the conveniences, the cars, and the clothes. Think of the leisure, the travel, the arts, and the culture we enjoy. ...So I ask, ‘Are we having fun yet?’ Why not? What’s wrong?”

Currie goes on to say that we are fast becoming a nation full of whiners. We are anxious, bitter, confused. We are envious, fearful, greedy, and hostile. “Why this alphabet soup,” he asks,” of indigestion as we belly up to a buffet of unprecedented bounty?” He continues by admonishing us, “We have forgotten our manners. We care too much about what we can get—how much we inherit—too little about how we behave.” The man packs a punch, that’s for sure, and reading his words humbled me greatly.

The author’s observations seemed to me to be true. We are rude to one another in public places, we grab what we can get (and feel we deserve more), we complain loudly if things don’t go our way, and, in general, behave pretty badly while seated at this banquet we call life. We live in the richest country in the world, and, yet, treat our abundance and the choices offered us as if they were nothing special at all.

As a young girl, I witnessed a powerful lesson on this very subject. We welcomed a young man from Nigeria into our home. Our church had sponsored his arrival in the United States and host families were helping him make the transition. My mother took him to the local supermarket for food, and, in complete awe of the cornucopia laid out before him, he stood motionless, paralyzed, unable to make a decision on what to purchase. I can only imagine how his supermarket at home must have looked, if, indeed, there was such a thing. We take so much for granted.

What can we do every day, especially this holiday season, to tap into greater appreciation of the bounty we have been given? How can we move from whining about life, to whistling to the delight of its melody? We can read Dwight Currie’s book which offers us 52 seasonal readings to help us light the inner fire of gratitude. Or, we can start where we are right now, wipe the lenses through which we view the world, and try to walk through life with greater awareness of the blessings that abound—yes, even in times that may feel challenging.

On Friday, I'll post 3 powerful spiritual practices that can help us do this. 
Stay tuned!

~~~~~

 "What To Do When You're Feeling Blue:
30 Days of Insights and Practices to Change the "Hue" of Your Life"

Begin anytime, a self-paced class, delivered daily, guaranteed to help you rise above melancholy and embrace gladness—no matter what is happening in your life! 

Learn More and Register

If You've Got a Case of Monday Morning Blues

Until I decide I won't, I am penning, these blog posts in support of my ongoing sacred journey course,“Creating a Life of Contentment,"  which began Sept. 15. For one entire year, we'll be traveling together as intimate companions: to relax, let go and rest into Love; to discover the bliss of our own life. You can learn more about the program here. 

Weakness or Wisdom? 

“Some mornings are tougher than others,” I said to my husband in reply to his early morning question, “What’s wrong?”

It was a gloomy morning. Dark, windy, rainy. The third such morning in a row. No evident sunrise. Just plenty of dark clouds on the horizon.

I am a sunshine-driven gal so when we have multiple mornings of very little light I can get a bit “down.” It takes me a while to get “up” so I can proceed with my day. It may also take some spiritual tools and I am very glad I have them.

We all have days like this, don’t we? When rising and greeting the day feels heavy or like a chore? It takes some umph to get going and pointed in the direction of our best selves. This certainly doesn’t mean we are “bad” people or not as spiritual as we could be. We are human—human beings having very normal feelings—and it can take some time to get back into the groove of living through our true identity.

Which is light and love and joy and gratitude—“the virtues of the Spirit," as I call them—and they can appear seriously dim when the ego is present.

That’s all it is, you know, this downhearted stuff: the voice of our human self, the ego, speaking louder than the voice of our true self. At least this is how I perceive it ...

I received a letter from a reader the other day attesting to this very thing. She expressed how difficult it was for her to “naturally” find the light in any given moment. That she had to consciously bend herself in that direction and, if she didn’t, the sadness she was feeling (a great deal of loss in her life recently) would break her wide open.

Good, I thought to myself. You know what to do. Point yourself toward the light. Push yourself if you have to. I certainly understand what she’s feeling. I have been there too. We all have.

But, why would we feel abnormal because this is how our mind works? This is what it means to be a human being. This is what I would say to her ...

This is how we respond to hard times, gloomy mornings, challenging news, until we have “rewired” ourselves; know ourselves inside and out and can respond immediately to ego-based feelings with a spiritual tool like breath or self-compassion. Until then we will likely lay down in the lap of the ego once again and stay stuck in sadness or despair.

And this is also why it is so very important for us to have spiritual tools—mindsets and practices—easily within our reach. As close as our breath. Or a yoga mat in the corner. Or an uplifting book on the coffee table.

We reach out and grab a hold of what works. Using a spiritual tool when we are feeling bad is not an act of weakness. It is an act of wisdom.

We can notice the sadness, recognize it for what it is, and make a new choice—a light-filled choice—so we don’t tarry long in self-imposed darkness.

That bluesy morning I grabbed hold of my own tools and put them to good use. I lit a candle. Turned on the CD player. Spent some time with a precious and life-affirming book.

Within five minutes the clouds lifted. Yes, it is still cold and rainy and dusky outside by the inner fire has been re-kindled.

I now saw see seagulls navigating the gusts. Bright yellow mums in the garden. Words lovingly written upon a page.

The Buddha-smile in my heart had returned.

It can be so for any of us. It simply takes intention and know-how. And I know you know how or you wouldn’t be here right now reading these words.

So use your tools when you need to. Lean into the light. Smile like a Buddha and trust that all will be well. Because it will. 

 "We carry a center that is always returning.
~Mark Nepo