Gratefulness

"Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life." ~A.J. Cronin

"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." ~Johannes A. Gaertner

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." ~Henry Van Dyke

"Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts." ~Henri Frederic Amiel

These are just a few of the many quotes I gathered at my retreat last Thursday. I'm a big fan of quotes :o) It really was a "Blessed Day" and I'm glad I took some notes because apparently my memory isn't that great!

In the three years I have attended this "A Time to be Grateful", there have been three different facilitators. This year, it was two nurses who gave the same/similar presentation this spring to a group of nurses. I wasn't sure what to expect, so brought a bag filled with things to read/reflect on in case there was "down time". This was the structure last year and I really liked that. This year had more of a presentation/small group discussion/activity structure which worked too, but it was different.

We opened with an ice breaker activity where we had to find people to sign our "BINGO" sheet with things like "play the piano", "has a sister", "knows how to use an iPod". I will admit that I didn't really meet people during that activity, though, since we were just passing around papers. However, since everyone was old enough to be my mom or grandma, they looked to me for the iPod box :o)

After that, we met in the chapel for the opening prayer. I liked this excerpt from "The Cup of Our Life" by Joyce Rupp, O.S.M.--"Memory enables us to recall our blessings (our touches of God), to give thanks for them, and to grow because of them. Our ability to remember is a precious gift. It is in remembering our blessings that our hearts are filled with gratitude. Without memory we would be unable to savor the good things that have happened to us and for us. Without memory we would be unable to be healed from past painful situations." We all thought about a memory and each lit a candle on the altar. It was really nice.

Then, one of the facilitators did a little presentation about gratitude and gratefulness. She talked about how little acts of kindness can go a long way, we watched an "Appreciation" video which reminded us to "thank someone who has touched your life--TODAY". I found myself nodding my head a lot during this part because this is something that I have tried to do for a long time. I know how wonderful it feels when I am appreciated. I know how much of a difference a kind word or gesture can make, especially when I'm having a crappy day. I'm sure there is always room for improvement, but if I even THINK about saying thanks, I do it. I love writing thank-you notes. I enjoy making people feel special.

We met in small groups of four and discussed the question "What is the smallest gift you've ever been given for which you are grateful?" It was hard for me to come up with one thing because my life is FILLED with little moments that I choose to be grateful for (okay this sounds too good to be true, but seriously, I try very hard to be the "shining light"...oh my, that is so cheesy...and I hope it's true!) Later, our small group discussed the question "What have you been given in your life that appeared to be a tragedy but became a blessing?" I had quite a few examples of that too, mostly because of what I do for a living and because of the people God has chosen to place in my path who have an amazing ability to see the beauty in the little things that has rubbed off on me :o) (Um, yeah so I seriously did want to throw my work phone and am not sure how many times I said "For the love of Pete" out of frustration with the craziness of the day today, so maybe I'm not so good at finding blessings in the little things...ha!)

We had lunch together and then had about an hour to do what we wanted. It ended up being an nice November day. I wanted to walk down to the water or into the woods, but couldn't do that AND walk the labyrinth. Since I did the labyrinth the past two years and really enjoyed that reflection time, I decided that I would be disappointed later if I didn't take this opportunity. I had never heard of this type of Labyrinth prior to two years ago, but would recommend to anyone to take the opportunity to walk one if it is available. Three years, three themes (I did write about my "labyrinth experience" the other two times). Two years ago I really needed to slow down. Last year, I learned that you need to put one foot in front of the other, live in the moment because looking too far ahead or back doesn't help...

This year, it was really quiet. There weren't really any leaves left on the trees and there was hardly a breeze to rustle any that were left. Every once in a while, I could hear a chirping bird, but mostly it was quiet. Only one other person was walking the labyrinth and she started a little while before I did. At one point, we were walking next to each other in stride, but not really, because she was on an entirely different part of the path. There was a pile of leaves in a portion of the path and I had to stop and look closely to make sure I continued on the correct path.

As I walked, I contemplated my life as it is. I am content. I feel fulfilled. I have my own mission, my own ministry, my own path, and I am grateful for that. I love what I do--not just in my job, but in my life. Even though some day it would be great to be a mom, (and a wife), right now, this life I am living is SO blessed and wonderful that I think a part of me doesn't want this ever to change...

I sat on the bench in the middle of the labyrinth for a little while. I ended up walking out pretty quickly since it was time for the next session (and I had to go to the bathroom!). However, I did have to wipe some tears from my eyes as I thought about this day. Here I was with a dozen other women who kept calling me the "young one". Sure, I reminded them that I AM 30 and not 15, but really, being the "young one" was SO refreshing. I wasn't the old single one without kids. In fact, not once did any of those women mention anything of the sort. It was so great to be myself, be who I am, share my stories like that. It was kind of weird that a number of them "thanked" me for being there and for sharing, but even that was really nice too. It was heartwarming that these women saw me simply as someone who is enjoying life, making a difference in this life, the most of what I have been given, and not at all "missing out" because of the choices I have made...I am so grateful for this. It may sound simple, but even my sister's well meaning text message on Wednesday letting me know that eharmony was having a free weekend was hard to deal with...

(The swing where I sat with my notebook thinking about what

I learned from the labyrinth this year.)


(A cool statue)

I dropped off jewelry from my party before choir practice that night. Two of the girls I baby-sat came to my party, but their mom could not. When I dropped off the jewelry, she invited me in for a glass of wine. She and I had a very nice visit, including discussing some of the things I thought about during my "alone time". It was so special to sit there with someone I have known for a LONG time, but not necessarily in that capacity. I started baby-sitting her kids when I was eleven, but before that, I used to walk by their house just to see if the kids were outside so I could play with them :o) There is history there, but I'm not sure we have ever had a one-on-one like that and that was a beautiful blessing to end the "Day to be Grateful".

(I almost forgot, we made "gratitude books" filled with quotes...it was a nice "craft" that was pretty much done for us, we just had to pick quotes, glue them to the pages, and add stickers if we wanted...my kind of activity!)

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"At the end of life, our questions are very simple: Did I live fully? Did I love well?" ~Jack Kornfield

"Express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you truly appreciate life and you'll find that you have more of it." ~Ralph Marston

"The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. She who has learned this knows what it means to live. She has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything." ~Albert Schweitzer

Thank someone who has touched your life...today.
Thank you and good night.