Share the Spiritual

The spiritual concept that comes most easily to me is gratitude. Gratitude feels natural and authentic, and creates a beautiful view. It gives me a kind of heaven on earth amidst my human lessons.

Gratitude builds a light filled world that renews itself every time I appreciate life. Gratitude is my dearest teacher on this journey, and I keep her close always.

I have so much to be grateful for, and remembering this opens my perspective and lightens my step. I find myself sincerely amazed at all that people do to give of themselves, and from my heart I want to thank them. This thankfulness allows me to recognize what really matters. It shows me that there is so much more than just my story and my wants. It reminds me that the positive is always beside the negative; abundance always lies beneath appearances of lack.

Gratitude builds upon itself and provides an endless reservoir. It brings grace and love to challenging days. It has the power to cleanse the past, to teach us to rise above our fears, and to transform life beyond what we think it can be. Most of all, gratitude strengthens our connection to each other.

So often, the jobs that we do for others go unacknowledged or are just expected, but with gratitude, we pause to say thank you. We remember to appreciate one another through life’s trials, amidst our personal embarrassments and triumphs. This is all that really matters.

Gratitude holds unfathomable depths. Last week, I experienced them when my eight year old son had emergency surgery. All through a long uncharted night, my husband and I felt the most intensifying gratitude for our child. On the hospital stretcher, surrounded by the sights and smells of his newborn days, our son looked so much like the baby we had welcomed to the world – the infant we had fallen in love with. I was reminded a hundred times what an honor it is to take care of him, but he was in immense pain that our hands could not fix. When he came out of surgery safely headed for a full recovery, our spirits soared in gratitude! I gathered flowers from my garden for his hospital room, to celebrate all that he is, and tears fell shining in the September sun. My heart overflowed with thankfulness for gifts I could only begin to understand, and for the omnipresence of love. Gratitude held my hand that quiet afternoon and healed a thousand worries with the radiance of one soul – the light of my child, the brightest in my heaven on earth.

Carrying this gratitude with me, I see the sacredness of life. I feel the connections that echo what an honor it is to be given each light that walks among us. With a grateful heart, I say thank you God for each other, for benevolence and mercy, for thankfulness unbounded, and most of all for love. May I walk forward appreciating these immeasurable gifts.