Recently, I have made it a point to intentionally walk out in our yard early in the morning just before the sun comes up, not to do a specific thing or chore, but to be, just be, and observe all that is around me in sight, sound, and early morning fragrance.

Today’s question is a good one for me because it’s all too easy for me to jump in and do the next thing that needs to get done early in the morning, returning emails, managing our Quaker meeting website, or doing something else that seems to be clamoring for attention.

For thirty years I kept the following two passages regarding kindness framed on the wall in my office when working with children and teens:

Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness;
And bearing one with another,
And forgiving one another,
And not laying accusations
One against another;
But praying one for another,
And helping one another
Up with a tender hand…
– Isaac Penington

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did, but people will
never forget how you made them feel.
– Maya Angelou

“Thank you,” is probably the most frequently used phrase by me after the word, “Hello.” When honestly stated, “thank you” opens doors, softens hearts, and begs the offering of another phrase, “See you soon!”
And while we’re on the topic, thank you to the Gratefulness team and organization that makes this site and all of its programs possible. And thank you to my friends here, who contribute regularly here with heart and spirit day after day. I treasure you all in my life.

When life is difficult, and for example, when we’re in the middle of a crisis or emergency, being aware of what there still is to be grateful for is terribly difficult. Let’s not kid ourselves here. What has worked for me in the past, which I actually learned from doing disaster response training many years ago, is to get out a piece of paper, pause, take a breath, and make a simple list of where blessings and positive things continue to be present even as I/we are in the middle of facing a potentially life altering challenge. Reading our list aloud to ourselves, then folding it into our pockets further reinforces what is still good and happening. It almost seems too simple, but it works.

Hello Maeve, I’m retired now, but when I was working long hours with children, teens and parents, I used to “try” to carve out 10-15 minutes in mid afternoon in my office for meditation, and sometimes worship. A real treat for me, which didn’t happen very often, is when a Friend from our meeting would call and ask me if I had five to ten minutes for a visit, which she meant, to worship. She’d come in, we’d sit, and for a beautiful ten minutes hold a brief period of silent worship.

These days, having retired seven years ago, I pause in several spots here and there for the same amount of time, ten minutes, for what feels like worship to me. After I set our boat up for our rowing team three days a week, I sit quietly in the boat, staying with my breath and the sound of water lapping against the boat’s hull, or in a chair in the back yard. (The trick there though is not to fall asleep!) Have a good day, Friend!