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Gratefulness
I am grateful for our beautiful website and bow to its service in the world, and to all those who will resonate with its purpose. Go free!
Thank you to any of you who are here after receiving our practice email this morning with the incorrect link! A sure opportunity for all of us to respond creatively to unexpected situations. Life will offer these every day, and it is always a deep learning for me to expand my sense of possibility at these times, rather than constrict. Not easy, but worth it. Creative adaptation and resilience in the face of life’s unpredictability – powerful grateful living practices as we navigate life.<...
Thank you to any of you who are here after receiving our practice email this morning with the incorrect link! A sure opportunity for all of us to respond creatively to unexpected situations. Life will offer these every day, and it is always a deep learning for me to expand my sense of possibility at these times, rather than constrict. Not easy, but worth it. Creative adaptation and resilience in the face of life’s unpredictability – powerful grateful living practices as we navigate life.
A beautiful reflection. How wonderful that “Reality” reminds us that life is precious and fragile and begs for our fullness. Thank you so much for your thoughtful and kind comment. K
Ken – what a wonderful addition to the conversation: aligning with our deep spiritual principles helps us to know what is right and loving in all our circumstances. Thank you so much for this reminder and for adding to the conversation. K
Susan – Trust in life is a big teaching and one that asks us to step into many places where we have withheld our trust and therefore suffered. Committing to “work with life as it is” allows us to move from resistance to greater trust. Br. David has much to offer us on this path of liberation and joy. I hope I can humbly add something to that path… K
Thanks so much Patjos! You have honored me with the gifts of your time and praise. May you continue to be uplifted in gratefulness. K
Thank you Elaine. I love that you are interested in unpacking legacy for the many treasures it offers us as we mature. There is much for which to be grateful in the midst of this life we have. Blessings on your path of deepened awareness and I am so glad you are part of our community. Keep in touch – K
Drew – You are exactly right! Most beautifully said. Unconditional, full aliveness – and availability to life as it is – promise the moments we long for most deeply. Being present to life is such a gift. Thank you for your wonderful words. K
Thank you Margaret. You are ever-embedded in our hearts, and in the heart of grateful living and all that it brings to the world.
Thank you for sharing yourself with us Maria, and how you are able to turn to the natural world to fill you up when you feel depleted. Connecting and reconnecting with those things for which we are grateful is such a vital sustenance. Keep coming back to gratefulness for nourishment. It is always there/here for you. From my heart – K
Brigitte – thank you for sharing reflections on your sacred sources of inspiration. You have painted a beautiful cathedral for us to imagine and enjoy with you. Gratefully – K.
What a gorgeously thoughtful and hopeful reflection, Carol. I have to say that I have always felt as you do – that the energy and learnings of our current life get added to an energetic pool for the future and this makes everything now matter so much. “We are all life.” And we are all creators. Thank you, friend. K
Oh, good morning dear Sheila! How lovely to hear from you and thank you for always responding to the invitation to love life ever more…you are so alive to how much we have to be grateful for. I count you as a source of my inspiration. Blessings of this beautiful season to you. K
Thank you so much Pam – I am grateful that you felt drawn to commune; that would be my hope. And it was a real joy to write this piece, so I am glad you enjoyed reading it. Blessings – K
Hello again Craig – We are sorry you feel the way you do and respect whatever path forward feels right for you. We’re curious why you think there isn’t space for discussion here? We see our commitment to feature different voices on the site as the first layer of discussion. Community member’s responses to articles and resources and to other comments are added layers of that discussion. We’re open to the differing ideas that people may have about gratitude and gratefulness and gratef...
Hello again Craig – We are sorry you feel the way you do and respect whatever path forward feels right for you. We’re curious why you think there isn’t space for discussion here? We see our commitment to feature different voices on the site as the first layer of discussion. Community member’s responses to articles and resources and to other comments are added layers of that discussion. We’re open to the differing ideas that people may have about gratitude and gratefulness and grateful living, and we firmly believe that no one person has all the answers. We can only offer the perspective we have based on our own experiences in and of the world. We feel we can all be teachers for each other in a way in that we can always learn from each other, even if it is by crystallizing our own ideas in comparison to another’s. We thank you for your own ideas, Craig. We appreciate that you are wrestling with Elizabeth’s take on gratitude and hope it informs and clarifies your own thinking on the subject; we thank you for sharing those thoughts here as perhaps it will inform others as well. Each of our perspectives have value in the domain of shared learning. With grateful care – K
Dear Craig – I have been glad to feel you back here and to have your voice once again in our midst. I appreciate that you are such a thoughtful, seasoned seeker, and your praise for our efforts has been meaningful to me.
I find myself sorry for your upset and while I am aware that I may not speak to your concerns in a way that will change your mind I will at least try to speak into the heart of the matter as I can. We intentionally feature a variety of voices in the chorus of perspe...
I find myself sorry for your upset and while I am aware that I may not speak to your concerns in a way that will change your mind I will at least try to speak into the heart of the matter as I can. We intentionally feature a variety of voices in the chorus of perspectives on grateful living. A diversity of interpretations is meant to enrich consideration and compassion. This author is wrestling with how to hold awareness of separation and suffering with gratitude and celebration simultaneously – something many in our world are struggling with right now. She is seasoned in this struggle and has written about it more personally before: https://gratefulness.org/blog/the-yellow-tree/
The lines drawn in this consideration are very fine – filaments that speak to both small and large distinctions. How the struggles in our lives and world can wake us up to act, and then we hold gratitude for the awakening – this is everywhere in our lives. To seek to find opportunities in the midst of difficulty is not opportunistic. To appreciate and accept that something is true does not mean it is acceptable. To be grateful for having a heart that can crack open in the face of suffering does not condone the suffering itself.
Our intention is to surface the depths and complexities of contemplation that allows for gratitude to attend to the “great fullness” of life as it is. This is not always easy but it is our offering. In this we are ever-humbled. In our shared belonging, Kristi
Colette – You have got it – seeing everything in life as gift and therefore receiving the teachings of everything. May you continue on and may we be a source of support for your beautiful way of life…K
HI Niels – Thank you so much for showing up and chiming in. What a gift your words are. I love what you say and have been thinking about it a lot myself – being grateful for what we typically take for granted. Stay close. Your voice is valued. K
Craig – Welcome back! I am so glad to feel and see you with us again. You always have such thoughtful reflections to share and they are most welcome – especially as you have been exploring for a while and have a valuable perspective to bring. Thank you so much. K.
Thank you so much for sharing your very human struggle. You may “walk alone” but you are everything and connected to everything. You are surrounded by abundant beneficence at all times and you are a magnificent expression of the miraculous, if you continually practice noticing. Keep noticing! From my heart – K
Drew – Thank you so much for being you! What a blessing to have the opportunity to enrich your already-rich contemplative life. You honor me. Many blessings on your path of being made from love for love.
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