In Which I Practice the Art of Gratitude Seeing

 

Lately I have been thinking a great deal about how much I have to be grateful for. For years, gifted with an ‘easy’ life, my world view was so very peripatetic. I didn't look at anything for very long, always eager to move on, to see what 'is next.' Did I really notice what was in front of or around me? 

   It was only when things became hard, when life became incredibly challenging at times, that I began to notice how many beautiful, wonderful things there are in this world. In my case a chronic illness struck, and it narrowed down my focus. At first it made me look inward because, quite frankly, I was suffering and frightened. However, when the worst of the storm has passed and I knew that I was going to survive, something rather wonderful happened. Narrowing down also helped me to see the world in a different way. It slowed me down and suddenly the beauty in everyday things, in the mundane, and in nature, hit me. I truly felt as if I was seeing the world through a new set of eyes. Though chronic illness has stripped me of many of the things that used to fill and enrich my life, it has also, strangely enough, given me a gift. 

   The interesting thing about this process is that when you start to see beauty, and notice goodness and kindness, you realize how lucky you are; you feel grateful for all the wonders around you, big and small. A view that you have looked at for years but did not really truly 'see' comes into focus and you cannot believe that you took it for granted. The sound of a loved one's laughter makes your heart light and you smile. A kind look or word from a complete stranger is noticed and appreciated. The taste of a perfectly ripe strawberry makes you close your eyes with pleasure. You start to discover that there are so many things in your daily life that you are can be grateful for.  

   Every Thursday morning I get together with a group of local ladies to chat and connect. Recently some of my lady friends and I got onto the subject of how important it is to be grateful, how the very act of experiencing gratitude makes life brighter, richer, gentler. All of us in our group have our personal trials. On top of that all of us fear for the future of our country; we worry about the wildfires that are blazing all over the country, in Canada, and in Europe; our hearts bleed for the victims of war; and we wonder if humankind will survive our own stupidity and shortsightedness. In the face of all these darknesses, internal and external, we do our best to find beauty, awe, and goodness.

   Once you start looking through the lens of gratitude, you see more and more things, and people, to be grateful for with each passing day. Gratitude Seeing is like a muscle. Once you start using it, it becomes stronger, and so you see more. And then more.

   My lady friends and I have started sharing, each day, one thing that we are grateful for. I am enjoying sharing this practice with them. I think it makes my own Gratitude Seeing more meaningful, and hearing their words allows me to get to know them better. One lady spoke of how grateful she is for the little lizard who crossed her path that day. This resonated with me as I have been a naturalist since I was a child, and I too love the little lizards that I encounter as I work on my farm.

   Another lady spoke of how grateful she is for the redwood trees that she and her husband visited that day. Reading her words reminded me of my own love affair with these stupendous great trees. When I stood in front of my first redwood I gazed up in awe at this living being that was so ancient, that had ‘witnessed’ so much. I knew that ‘my’ tree was part of a great web of connection which ran underground, and even through the air, in the grove in which it stood.

   One lady spoke about being grateful for a focus on hope instead of fear. Truly a powerful thing to seek, and be grateful for. Her words served as a gentle tap on my shoulder. I too should seek hope, especially when it feels as if hope is very thin on the ground.

   So, Gratitude Seeing not only enriches my life through what I personally see and experience. When it is shared, hearing the words of gratitude of others allows me to learn from their their wisdom, to savor parallel memories, and to get to know them better.

   It is remarkable how a simple shift in how one sees the world can have such a profound effect on one’s life. The world is still full of darknesses, but we Gratitude Seers find sparks of light in it all the same. Some days the sparks are mere pinpricks, but on other days they are a candle, a lamp, or even a sparkler.