100-Day Gratitude Challenge
Day 89: Remember That It’s Not Just Another Day
Reflect
In 2010, a woman in Great Britain dusted off a family violin that had been stashed in the closet, took it to be appraised, and found out it was an invaluable instrument made by Giuseppe Guarneri. In 2014, one woman at a Starbucks drive-through in Florida paid for her drink and that of the customer behind her, kicking off a chain of nearly 400 people buying a coffee for the person in the next car…someone they would never meet. We like the magic of these seemingly disparate stories — the way they highlight serendipity and generosity, the way they demonstrate kindness and evoke a touch of wonder and awe. They can feel like the icing on the cake of life. But the amazing thing? We don’t have to wait for the surprise heirloom or free coffee; most days offer a gift if we’re paying attention, even if that gift is simply the chance to take another breath. Br. David Steindl-Rast encourages this perspective when he says, “So you think this is just another day in your life? It’s not just another day. It’s the one day that is given to you today. It’s a gift. It’s the only gift that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness.”
Practice
Try responding to the day as if you’d just discovered a rare violin or been the 300th person in a long line of pay-it-forward customers at the drive-through. Take just as much delight in the gifts that are available to you every day — your senses, your ability to read, your capacity to love, the incomprehensible magic of being able to remember and forecast. Respond to each of these as if you were experiencing them for the very first time. When you remember that it’s all a gift, make note of what arises in your heart and how this shifts your experience of the day.
Bonus Resource
Reawaken to the gifts of being alive by watching Br. David’s timeless meditation, A Grateful Day.