Religious Education Update: December 14, 2008
The Spiritual Practice of Gratitude
Yesterday, my son the chef received an email from the Culinary School at Santa Rosa Junior College stating that recent graduates were having trouble finding jobs. Phil looked up from his computer and remarked, “I think I’m lucky to have a job.” When Phil graduated just three semesters ago, employers had approached him for interviews, and he had landed a job within a couple of days of posting his resume on the culinary school website.
This morning, as I started my day by fetching my newspapers off the sidewalk, I noticed the freezing temperatures and thick frost. As I opened the front door on my return, I felt gratitude for the warm air that greeted me. I thought, “I’m so lucky to have a warm house, and not be homeless.”
After glancing through the usual grim headlines, I wondered how it would be to intentionally practice gratitude as a spiritual practice and not just feel thankful at random moments, as in the examples above. What if I were to slow down, pay attention to the little things, and notice the good stuff? Could I practice gratitude for an entire day?
Later, when I arrived at Sonoma Mountain Elementary School, I walked by a maintenance worker, Dominic, sanitizing a patch of concrete and cleaning up vomit. As a nasty stomach bug is running through the school right now, I’m sure he will be repeating this task over and over this week. I stopped and said, “Thank you, Dominic, for doing this job. I’m sure it’s not pleasant and I appreciate you.” He looked up and smiled at me.
So far, I’ve practiced gratitude for two hours and elicited three smiles from Dominic, my son and a friend. I also feel more cheerful. What will be the impact of this spiritual practice on me and others by the end of the day?
If you choose to try this experiment yourself some time, please let me know how your life is changed. I’d be interested to hear.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
Yesterday, my son the chef received an email from the Culinary School at Santa Rosa Junior College stating that recent graduates were having trouble finding jobs. Phil looked up from his computer and remarked, “I think I’m lucky to have a job.” When Phil graduated just three semesters ago, employers had approached him for interviews, and he had landed a job within a couple of days of posting his resume on the culinary school website.
This morning, as I started my day by fetching my newspapers off the sidewalk, I noticed the freezing temperatures and thick frost. As I opened the front door on my return, I felt gratitude for the warm air that greeted me. I thought, “I’m so lucky to have a warm house, and not be homeless.”
After glancing through the usual grim headlines, I wondered how it would be to intentionally practice gratitude as a spiritual practice and not just feel thankful at random moments, as in the examples above. What if I were to slow down, pay attention to the little things, and notice the good stuff? Could I practice gratitude for an entire day?
Later, when I arrived at Sonoma Mountain Elementary School, I walked by a maintenance worker, Dominic, sanitizing a patch of concrete and cleaning up vomit. As a nasty stomach bug is running through the school right now, I’m sure he will be repeating this task over and over this week. I stopped and said, “Thank you, Dominic, for doing this job. I’m sure it’s not pleasant and I appreciate you.” He looked up and smiled at me.
So far, I’ve practiced gratitude for two hours and elicited three smiles from Dominic, my son and a friend. I also feel more cheerful. What will be the impact of this spiritual practice on me and others by the end of the day?
If you choose to try this experiment yourself some time, please let me know how your life is changed. I’d be interested to hear.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
posted by Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma @ 8:49 PM
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