{"id":155,"date":"2013-11-15T12:23:32","date_gmt":"2013-11-15T17:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesavides.com\/steven\/?p=155"},"modified":"2013-11-15T12:32:52","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T17:32:52","slug":"a-chain-of-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesavides.com\/steven\/a-chain-of-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chain of Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Thou that has given so much to me,
\nGive one thing more \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a grateful heart;
\nNot thankful when it pleaseth me,
\nAs if thy blessings had spare days;
\nBut such a heart, whose pulse may be
\nThy Praise.<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c George Herbert<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As Thanksgiving approaches, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been exploring gratitude with a small group at the church. Through poetry, prose, holy writings, movie clips, and multimedia presentations we have pondered both the abundance of reasons for being grateful and the effects of gratefulness \u00e2\u20ac\u201c on the self, on others, on the world, on the Divine.<\/p>\n

Gratitude opens the great warehouse doors of the soul, allowing light and love to flood in and out. Gratitude enlarges the capacity to live in the moment \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this moment \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and to live it well. Gratitude acknowledges the miracle of being and opens the heart to wondrous possibilities. It activates and animates faith.<\/p>\n

Gratitude need not be complicated. All it requires is awareness, a growing mindfulness. It is a response that needs to be cultivated over time through simple acknowledgement. The more intentionally one practices grateful awareness, the more the practice of seeing the world with the eyes of blessing becomes possible. And the more we see the world through the eyes of blessing, the more we, ourselves, will be transformed into a blessing.<\/p>\n

The practice of gratefulness is so beautifully captured in this moving clip by Louie Schwartzberg:<\/p>\n