It was the end of what was a very dry April and I was sitting in a cafe, snow coming down, icy and cold and wet and rainy and the very opposite of what you want a spring day to be like. And yet as I listened to the conversation in the cafe I was struck by how many people came inside with gratitude pouring out of their lips for the moisture, gratitude for the cold, gratitude for the snow and the ice and the chance that it might nourish and restore the very dry soil.
Yesterday I woke up to a dusting of snow on what had been a beautiful green lawn two days before, and thought about all the coats and boots I had just packed away for the season. The temptation to feel unsettled and grumpy lingering next to me until I remembered the gratitude overheard in the cafe the other day. The moisture is so needed, and though the spring sun is missed, I too can deeply appreciate what the snow will do for the land.
I’ve been thinking about gratitude a lot lately. What is it, and what it does for us.
Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation when we experience something good, or when we receive a gift. It’s something that we feel a lot when things are going well, but is more difficult to feel when things are topsy turvy. When times a stressful, gratitude is less immediate and must be looked for. We usually have to practice living gratefully, which sometimes feels like a lot when life is hard. And yet, living gratefully allows us to reorient to a frame of mind where we acknowledge the good and the bad with openness. With gratitude, we are able to acknowledge that yes, it’s snowing in May, but we need the moisture and can pivot to appreciate a cozy day at home.
“We cannot be grateful for all that a given moment brings us; yet, in any given moment, we can be grateful for something. The gift within the gift of any given moment is opportunity.” Br. David-Steindl Rast
When we express gratitude regularly, we stay present in our daily lived moments. We are able to experience, with appreciation, what life offers us. When we express gratitude, we are more resilient in times of stress, being able to stay aware of what we value, and what we have that truly matters to us.
Gratitude also stops that particularly pernicious thief of joy - comparison. When you log in to social media virtually every day and are bombarded by the lives of of everyone else it can be so easy to feel behind or unsuccessful. Gratitude keeps us grounded in our own lives.
Do you have a daily gratitude practice? Mine shifts with the time of year and day, but one of the things I return to, of course, is poetry. Both reading and writing poetry is an active part of how I express and experience gratitude.
Here are some poems on gratitude that have really landed with me lately, I hope they land with you too.
Another way I live gratefully, is to take time and spend it close to nature. Some days that means working in the garden, sitting under trees, going for a walk. Other days that means throwing open the window and letting the sound of birds and wind filter into the house.
“When I feel defeated by all of the distractions and information I consume on a daily basis, I go to the river near my home. On the shore, my senses are inundated with beauty — the light in the trees, a heron passing by, the roar of water over stones that drowns out most thoughts, and birdsong that enchants. The enormity of the world is very small there, and it is where I often recognize that my inner life needs liberation from the distractions and misinformation provided by external sources.” Joe Primo
Sometimes I think of my practice of gratitude as a hunt for wild delight. Where in any given moment, is the wild delight? What curves my lips into a smile, what startles me into laughter in the middle of a boring or difficult day? What can I find in this directly mundane moment that is delightfully wild?
Sometimes it’s the dandelions that my son brings into the the house every afternoon, wilting in corners throughout the living room. Or the shock of spilling tea on my lap turning into laughter as my children giggle at the surprise on my face. The sounds of their voices wildly delightful. Sometimes it is found in the rainbows scattered onto my walls as sun streams through the prisms in the window. Sometimes it is the memory of laughing with someone I love.
In every day, there are opportunities to see wild delight. Where have you found wild delight today?
“A mighty gift that exists within living gratefully is that when your thoughts constrict your perspective, your practice opens you up to life — it liberates you from dualistic thinking that distracts you from whatever gifts, opportunities, beauty, and precious moments fill a day. It does so because it grounds you in each breath, step, and encounter, and in every moment where you are on this side of death.” Joe Primo
Great article and poems Raine! There are so many feeling we can feel at any given moment about anything we experience. Most of us think there is only one reaction or one feeling, and we get stuck in that particular feeling. I liked how you went from unsettled and grumpy to feeling gratitude for the snow in May because we need it. I think that having a good dose of curiosity and asking our selves how else we feel and explore the whole spectrum of feelings can move us into more pleasant feelings.
Thank you for sharing your magic!
Thank you for the reminder to be grateful 🙏🏻