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A Grateful Day | A Grateful Year: Day 2 – Look Around You. Look Inside Yourself

The Gratefulness Team
8 Reflections
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The second of an eight-day exploration of what it means to live life as a gift. Inspired by Br. David Steindl-Rast's meditation, A Grateful Day.

Welcome to DAY 2 of our practice. Let’s begin…

Quote over a sunset above the clouds.

Please close your eyes while you take three slow, deep breaths. Then open your eyes and consider the invitation to: “Look Around You. Look Inside Yourself.”

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of busy, modern life, it can require effort and commitment to truly notice and stay awake to the people, events, and moments in our lives. With numerous demands on our attention, it is easy to miss the wisdom of our hearts and bodies, the richness of leaning into what’s here NOW, and the opportunities and unexpected gifts that can exist within difficult or challenging situations. In short, whenever we are not alert to what’s happening in and around us, we miss the opportunity to live our lives to the fullest and to offer our best selves to the world.

Henry David Thoreau bids us to “keep ourselves awake” with “an infinite expectation of the dawn.” What a powerful and evocative invitation! In the spirit of alert aliveness, today we encourage you to:

  • Set an intention to look around you. Look inside yourself. Notice how simply setting this intention impacts you.
  • In all your interactions, give your full attention to the person with whom you are communicating. Notice how this impacts the exchange.
  • When going for a walk or traveling in your car, tune in to your surroundings. To help ground yourself in your body, notice the feel of your feet on the ground or your hands on the steering wheel.
  • What arises for you when you consider the quote from Thoreau that accompanies today’s practice? How might you “reawaken” and keep yourself awake?
  • At day’s end, reflect upon what you noticed today and explore how it feels and what might have changed as a result of following your intention to look around you. Look inside yourself.
  • Write about your experiences in a journal and/or share below.

If you would like to explore this topic further, you might appreciate:

 

 

  • Sharon

    The previous practice asked me to embrace uncertainty in a way I had never thought possible. Uncertainty used to scare me. I always anticipated the worst, and my life's experiences had fueled that. A lot. But that attitude was keeping me trapped in anxiety, and so I knew I needed to develop a new, healthier relationship with uncertainty. The previous practice told me that, since I don't know what the next moment will bring, why do I assume it will bring the worst when it can also bring the best?...

    The previous practice asked me to embrace uncertainty in a way I had never thought possible. Uncertainty used to scare me. I always anticipated the worst, and my life’s experiences had fueled that. A lot. But that attitude was keeping me trapped in anxiety, and so I knew I needed to develop a new, healthier relationship with uncertainty. The previous practice told me that, since I don’t know what the next moment will bring, why do I assume it will bring the worst when it can also bring the best? This practice helps with that because, if I become more mindful of any given moment, I realize that there is more blessing than not. Blessing vastly outweighs my struggles on most days. And so I continue to visit this website — to practise what does not come naturally to me: opening my eyes and being open to seeing all of what is around me: the challenging, yes, but also the wonderful. This has helped to reduce my anxiety a lot.

    Read More
  • Lynn S

    Simple things, noticed by trying to slow down and pay full attention to the moments of the day. My day was richer, made even more so by your posts.

  • Angie

    I have put my life in God’s hand. Everyday I say: “Your will is my wil. Your will is done trough me in this day”. The problem is that I only receive bad news. My enemies, people that have been lying against me in the Court are winning. They a are taking everything from me and I run the risk to loose the house I live in. They have already taken one house of mine. I do not know what God wants from me. Is He preparing me to loose everything and live in the streets, like a beggar.? I do not un...

    I have put my life in God’s hand. Everyday I say: “Your will is my wil. Your will is done trough me in this day”. The problem is that I only receive bad news. My enemies, people that have been lying against me in the Court are winning. They a are taking everything from me and I run the risk to loose the house I live in. They have already taken one house of mine. I do not know what God wants from me. Is He preparing me to loose everything and live in the streets, like a beggar.? I do not understand love’s God and His will. Is He cynical? Does He protect rich people ’cause they are smart and tithe more than I can? I need to be introduced to this God that is parcial and feels pleasure in punishing.

    Read More
    • Sharon

      I had basically this same argument with God for years, just different circumstances. Lots and lots of hard things one after the other. I still don't really understand God's ways. But I learned two important things: He can quite well take my anger and lashing out, and he walks through everything with me even when I'm doing my best to get rid of Him. What you discover about Him may be different, but I do think He loves our honesty above all things, and that is what your are bringing right now to y...

      I had basically this same argument with God for years, just different circumstances. Lots and lots of hard things one after the other. I still don’t really understand God’s ways. But I learned two important things: He can quite well take my anger and lashing out, and he walks through everything with me even when I’m doing my best to get rid of Him. What you discover about Him may be different, but I do think He loves our honesty above all things, and that is what your are bringing right now to your relationship with Him.

      Read More
    • Sheila

      Angie, sending you caring thoughts and blessings as you go through this challenging time in your life.
      Peace.????

  • Sheila

    I don’t have words to express what is in my heart to thank The Gratefulness Team for this practice and the whole Gratefulness site. My sincere and profound gratitude to all The Gratefulness Team!
    Peace, love and blessings to all.????

  • Rocco Capobianco

    I’m smiling because
    a million possible alternatives
    which would have precluded
    this moment we’re sharing
    didn’t happen. – Howard Olivier

    Let’s celebrate each moment and take nothing for granted as the universe makes no promises, as we saw in yesterday’s practice. I am so fortunate to be alive and sharing this world with you.

    Thank you for this post.

    • Sheila

      Dear Rocco, thank-you for your beautiful reflection! It touched my heart! I am going to write down that quote by Howard Olivier.
      Bless you, Rocco.☘

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