~ Reflections on Gratitude ~
“We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as
we walk about on her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time.
To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.”
– Excerpt from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address.
we walk about on her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time.
To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.”
– Excerpt from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address.
I have learned a lot about gratitude from Native American cultures, such as the Haudenosaunee, because for almost a decade I worked on a project to assess the health effects of environmental contaminants on First Nations communities in the Canadian Great Lakes basin. Their widespread practice of starting every group activity by offering gratitude for the gifts of life impressed me very deeply because it made me slow down and appreciate life.
Sadly, gratitude seems to be playing a decreasing role in western culture. Even the time-honored traditions of sending thank you notes and offering appreciation for a meal seem to be disappearing. And to my horror, a few years ago, advertisers started promoting the Thanksgiving Holiday as the ThanksGetting Holiday. Thankfully (pun intended), a strong public backlash seems to have put an end to this.
The diminishing role that gratitude plays in the dominant western culture is troubling because this simple practice benefits the giver, the receiver, the community, and society at large. For example, it’s been shown that people who offer gratitude have stronger immune systems, fewer aches and pains, lower blood pressure, better sleep and feel more refreshed on waking.
Gratitude understands that life is a gift to be treasured. We can express thanks for anything that brings a smile to our faces and cheerfulness to our hearts. It’s what gets poured into the glass to make it half full. It’s counting our blessings, not only our problems.
In addition to the health benefits I’ve already mentioned, gratitude has many other gifts. It can help us to face bad news and get through tough times. By cultivating gratitude, we can keep going, whatever happens. This doesn’t mean that we ignore pain and suffering. Rather, it’s that we can hold more of it because we are also grateful.
Gratitude also strengthens our relationships with others. When we express gratitude to people who have helped us, we reinforce the connections between us. The reciprocal exchange of assistance and gratitude makes us feel more connected and more trusting.
Gratitude can also motivate us to benefit people who have not given us anything. This is because we can feel inspired to help them, just because we have been helped by others. In this way, gratitude can become more than just a closed circle of giving and receiving with those we know, it can be extended outward towards people we do not know thereby creating new relationships and connections.
These are just a few of the many gifts of gratitude. But even after we think we’ve reaped its rewards, gratitude is the gift that keeps on giving. This is because every time we remember our initial gratitude, it re-creates itself and we feel grateful all over again.
It can be very difficult to feel grateful when life is not going our way. But ultimately, gratitude does not depend on our external circumstances or conditions. Rather, it is an attitude of mind, an inside job. Things do not have to be going well for us to express gratitude. Even when we feel sad, angry, or scared we can still be grateful and joyful.
The first step is to become aware of the gifts we have been given. We don’t forget everything that’s difficult or problematic, but we also recognize the ways we have been helped and supported in our lives. Just taking a few minutes to count the blessings in our lives is a very effective gratitude practice.
Here are some things I try to remember being grateful for:
The gift of life itself: To be part of this wonderful and mysterious universe is a gift. To live on this beautiful blue-green planet is a gift. To be alive and aware is a gift.
My body: Our bodies do so much for us – they breathe, digest food, maintain an optimal temperature and move us around from place to place. I am grateful that I have eyes to see, ears to hear, a tongue to taste and arms to hug. To be able to think and feel, laugh and cry is a gift.
My family and friends: I am grateful for all the people and who care about me and wish me well. I am grateful for everything they do to support and help me.
The circumstances of my life: I am grateful that I can afford the basic necessities of life, and don’t have to worry about having a roof over my head or where my next meal is coming from. Many do not enjoy such blessings.
Those who support me, whether I know them or not: Those who grow and harvest the food I eat. Those who transport it to the grocery store. Those who build and maintain the roads. Those who provide me with mail service. And so on.
Most of all, I am grateful for the Earth: Without the earth, I could not live. Without the sun, the rain and the soil, there would be no food to eat. Without the oxygen produced by trees, freshwater in rivers, streams and aquifers, and countless other natural resources, we would all perish.
The next step is to express our gratitude. Feeling gratitude without expressing it is like walking away from a half-finished job, making a pie but forgetting to bake it, or wrapping a present and not giving it to anyone. We complete the job when we express our gratitude. Whether the object of our gratitude recognizes it or not, it doesn’t really matter because expressing appreciation makes us feel happier.
We can express gratitude to everyone who has helped us, including people who we love, people who challenge us, people who serve us, and people we work with. Whether we like them or not should not affect our gratitude because every relationship can be a gift and teach us something. Indeed, people who irritate or annoy us can often teach us a lot because we can learn patience and tolerance from them.
And we can express our gratitude to the Earth in words and prayers, such as the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, or in our actions. By loving the Earth and all her inhabitants, just as she loves us, we can perhaps express the highest form of gratitude. So let us stop harming others and the environment and work together for healing and wholeness.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sadly, gratitude seems to be playing a decreasing role in western culture. Even the time-honored traditions of sending thank you notes and offering appreciation for a meal seem to be disappearing. And to my horror, a few years ago, advertisers started promoting the Thanksgiving Holiday as the ThanksGetting Holiday. Thankfully (pun intended), a strong public backlash seems to have put an end to this.
The diminishing role that gratitude plays in the dominant western culture is troubling because this simple practice benefits the giver, the receiver, the community, and society at large. For example, it’s been shown that people who offer gratitude have stronger immune systems, fewer aches and pains, lower blood pressure, better sleep and feel more refreshed on waking.
Gratitude understands that life is a gift to be treasured. We can express thanks for anything that brings a smile to our faces and cheerfulness to our hearts. It’s what gets poured into the glass to make it half full. It’s counting our blessings, not only our problems.
In addition to the health benefits I’ve already mentioned, gratitude has many other gifts. It can help us to face bad news and get through tough times. By cultivating gratitude, we can keep going, whatever happens. This doesn’t mean that we ignore pain and suffering. Rather, it’s that we can hold more of it because we are also grateful.
Gratitude also strengthens our relationships with others. When we express gratitude to people who have helped us, we reinforce the connections between us. The reciprocal exchange of assistance and gratitude makes us feel more connected and more trusting.
Gratitude can also motivate us to benefit people who have not given us anything. This is because we can feel inspired to help them, just because we have been helped by others. In this way, gratitude can become more than just a closed circle of giving and receiving with those we know, it can be extended outward towards people we do not know thereby creating new relationships and connections.
These are just a few of the many gifts of gratitude. But even after we think we’ve reaped its rewards, gratitude is the gift that keeps on giving. This is because every time we remember our initial gratitude, it re-creates itself and we feel grateful all over again.
It can be very difficult to feel grateful when life is not going our way. But ultimately, gratitude does not depend on our external circumstances or conditions. Rather, it is an attitude of mind, an inside job. Things do not have to be going well for us to express gratitude. Even when we feel sad, angry, or scared we can still be grateful and joyful.
The first step is to become aware of the gifts we have been given. We don’t forget everything that’s difficult or problematic, but we also recognize the ways we have been helped and supported in our lives. Just taking a few minutes to count the blessings in our lives is a very effective gratitude practice.
Here are some things I try to remember being grateful for:
The gift of life itself: To be part of this wonderful and mysterious universe is a gift. To live on this beautiful blue-green planet is a gift. To be alive and aware is a gift.
My body: Our bodies do so much for us – they breathe, digest food, maintain an optimal temperature and move us around from place to place. I am grateful that I have eyes to see, ears to hear, a tongue to taste and arms to hug. To be able to think and feel, laugh and cry is a gift.
My family and friends: I am grateful for all the people and who care about me and wish me well. I am grateful for everything they do to support and help me.
The circumstances of my life: I am grateful that I can afford the basic necessities of life, and don’t have to worry about having a roof over my head or where my next meal is coming from. Many do not enjoy such blessings.
Those who support me, whether I know them or not: Those who grow and harvest the food I eat. Those who transport it to the grocery store. Those who build and maintain the roads. Those who provide me with mail service. And so on.
Most of all, I am grateful for the Earth: Without the earth, I could not live. Without the sun, the rain and the soil, there would be no food to eat. Without the oxygen produced by trees, freshwater in rivers, streams and aquifers, and countless other natural resources, we would all perish.
The next step is to express our gratitude. Feeling gratitude without expressing it is like walking away from a half-finished job, making a pie but forgetting to bake it, or wrapping a present and not giving it to anyone. We complete the job when we express our gratitude. Whether the object of our gratitude recognizes it or not, it doesn’t really matter because expressing appreciation makes us feel happier.
We can express gratitude to everyone who has helped us, including people who we love, people who challenge us, people who serve us, and people we work with. Whether we like them or not should not affect our gratitude because every relationship can be a gift and teach us something. Indeed, people who irritate or annoy us can often teach us a lot because we can learn patience and tolerance from them.
And we can express our gratitude to the Earth in words and prayers, such as the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, or in our actions. By loving the Earth and all her inhabitants, just as she loves us, we can perhaps express the highest form of gratitude. So let us stop harming others and the environment and work together for healing and wholeness.
Happy Thanksgiving!
