Living gratefully has become part of my interior life. And it allows me to accept my feelings such as sorrow or joy without “internal commentary” on the happening or the emotion. I have come to realize that the highs and lows of emotions will pass and then that deep, rooted, unmoving joy will be uncovered again.
First of all,
I watch too much news . . .
there is so much sorrow in the world
that sometimes
I feel the weight of it
not only in my neck and shoulders,
but in my heart as well . . .
I want to stop the genocide,
call a halt to the torture
and bind the wounds of the suffering;
I want to feed,
clothe, and shelter
those who have nothing.
I want to teach people
how to survive . . .
grow a garden,
catch a fish,
build a house.
If I can find small joys in my own life
I can find them for others tool
Even those who suffer deeply
can find them too.
Anne Frank did,
as did Etty Hillesum
and prisoners in their cells,
who make friends with mice and flowers and birds.
I believe that finding joy while grieving
is a gift of Grace . . .
being able to smile at that small blue patch
outside the walls that contain a prisoner of sorrow . . .
it is maybe
the first step toward healing.
It was for me . . .
finding even the smallest spark of gratefulness
can lift the heart enough
to let in a little light and air,
and it can only get better from there.
Sorrow is what it is.
Joy is what it is as well.
They are simply what they are . . .
nothing more
and nothing less.
Gratitude
was the key
that unlocks the cage
and lets the bird out,
timidly at first,
and eventually in its full-bodied glory. ♥
Not watching the news has been a great help to calm the chaos between my ears, dear Sparrow. It has taken awhile, first just watching 1/2 hour of news on one of the Denver Spanish language stations, now none at all. Newspapers have become a thing of the past here in the hinterlands. This machine is a Microsoft product, and I do read the headlines on their platform Edge. Do not want to be a complete ostrich!, dear Sparrow.
Newspapers here too,
dear Joseph,
have become a thing of the past . . .
I’ve recently begun practicing ‘the gentle art of blessing”
while watching the news.
It is fertile ground for planting seeds of goodwill
and takes the focus off of my personal angst.
This helps. ♥
ps. No,
we don’t want to become ostriches. 🙂
Living gratefully has taught me to find blessing, goodness, and gifts in situations and people that might otherwise seem to be only negative. I’ve been living gratefully for so long now, and it’s such a central part of who I am, it would be easy to forget it wasn’t always my approach to life. I make a point of remembering, though, because I don’t ever want to take for granted the richness, joy, and perspective that come with it. It’s no overstatement to say that living gratefully transformed my life and completely changed its trajectory.
It absolutely is. I’ll always remember that before I started actively practicing gratitude—living gratefully—I thought I was a pretty grateful person. Then one day, I decided to try keeping a gratitude journal. It wasn’t long before every aspect of my life was radically transformed. Little things I wouldn’t have guessed had anything to do with gratitude changed dramatically for the better. Now I know all these things are well documented in gratitude research, but back then, I was just lost in the wonder of what seemed to be, and in truth was—an entirely new world! Later, I found Dr. Wayne Dyer’s great quotation that summed it all up perfectly: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
I notice the smallest of joys, and take time to pay attention and appreciate. I find lessons and sometimes signs of hope in the sorrows. I choose to look for the good in things so when something dreadful happens that gives rise to those sorrows, I notice and am grateful for the people who respond with caring and help and those who work to try to prevent the bad from happening again. Joy and sorrow are like light and dark; without the darkness there is no light.
I also remember the story of the king who wanted something that would make him laugh when he was sad and make him cry when he was happy, or some variation of that. The phrase “This too shall pass” was the answer. A quick search led me to this version https://satibal.com/moral-story-this-too-shall-pass/ and this Wikipedia entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_too_shall_pass. Paying attention to joy gives me something to remember when sorrow comes. Paying attention to sorrow helps me appreciate joy. Both will pass.
It can be easy to feel flooded by sorrows, and perceive them as reality. Grateful living helps me pause and expand my senses. I can deliberately look, listen, and reach for beauty and joy. Gratefulness gives me the autonomy to select how I experience life.
I focus on whatever’s within my control. This helps me realize that I have greater influence than I realize. Using influence and string-pulling fall under the same roof. The former has a positive connotation while the ladder is negative. It’s just like discipology vs buddy systems.
Speaking of discipology, I just finished the 28-day bible reading plan on that yesterday My main takeaway is that there’s a distinct difference that and buddy systems. Discipleship is pure while buddy systems have agendas. They talk a lot about twos and whos.
Twos and whos are an easy way to keep that circle smaller. Ngoc and Angela are my main twos and whos.
The part that jumps out in the reading is when Jesus told Peter to come with him. At first, Peter resisted and told Jesus that he came to the wrong guy. Jesus didn’t cave in. Once Peter bought in and came, he became a changed man for the better and one of the great disciples we know of today.
When Ngoc was in Vietnam, I had a Peter moment with my mom. She was the Jesus to my Peter by just approaching and talking to me. Of course, I was resistent at the beginning. Once I bought in, I benefitted greatly and have continued to evolve into a man of integrity.
Living gratefully has very much to do with now- right here in thr present not off in my mind world of thr past of future thoughts
. It’s easy for me to be grateful when all I see is life and all the beauty right hete. Now I can feel the somewhat lightly cool breeze flowing around my body and the sunshiny blue sky overhead. I can hear the sounds of a distant lawnmower buzzing and seagulls screaming as well as birds singing. I can also fill there is an abundance of pollen in the air making me sneeze! 😂
I am so grateful to the universe method which is to actually BECOME complete while we are alive ! This is truly a miracle and something to be thankful for. Thank you and happy summer everyone.
Living gratefully helps me respond to joys and sorrows as I am blessed. Because joys bring me happiness and sorrows bring me empathy for the world. They are all part of my humankind.
Living gratefully reminds me that the sorrows hurt because there was something extremely wonderful that was lost to cause the sorrow. I don’t remember her exact words but as Dolly says “ You can’t have rainbows without the rain”.
Deann, it’s just like with Ngoc going to Vietnam and California respectively for those 5 weeks. That was tough for both her and me. Finally being able to see each other is the rainbow.
Living gratefully keeps me centered in the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows, of life. I can pause before responding and truly observe what is happening.
Joy and sorrow are commingled. They are part of our human existence. Gratefulness is a still point in the eye of the storm. When I’m grateful I am centered as an unattached witness.
There are joys and sorrows of the world each and everyday. By focusing on being present I can see both. There will always be both. I pray and hope for a better world and wish the sorrows could go away. Joys fill my heart and soul which make me smile. Living gratefully makes me Stop.Look.Go.
Practicing living gratefully has allowed me to not take either joy or sorrow for granted. Living with loving kindness for both the light and dark of our world. Less judgement, and when judgement arises, examining with Tara Brachs RAIN (recognize, allow, investigate, nurture) presents me the inner spaciousness to become non-judgmental, for I live in a glass house too. The world has true evil, as well as true goodness, love and kindness. Gratefulness has opened and allowed this appreciation and acceptance of such truths to enter my life.
Peace, Love & Light.
Your reminder of Tara Brach’s RAIN was a helpful reminder to me to step back when being judgmental. My default is to blame myself. This gives me breathing room which does result in spaciousness. You describe this process so well, Joseph. Thank you.
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Living gratefully has become part of my interior life. And it allows me to accept my feelings such as sorrow or joy without “internal commentary” on the happening or the emotion. I have come to realize that the highs and lows of emotions will pass and then that deep, rooted, unmoving joy will be uncovered again.
First of all,
I watch too much news . . .
there is so much sorrow in the world
that sometimes
I feel the weight of it
not only in my neck and shoulders,
but in my heart as well . . .
I want to stop the genocide,
call a halt to the torture
and bind the wounds of the suffering;
I want to feed,
clothe, and shelter
those who have nothing.
I want to teach people
how to survive . . .
grow a garden,
catch a fish,
build a house.
If I can find small joys in my own life
I can find them for others tool
Even those who suffer deeply
can find them too.
Anne Frank did,
as did Etty Hillesum
and prisoners in their cells,
who make friends with mice and flowers and birds.
I believe that finding joy while grieving
is a gift of Grace . . .
being able to smile at that small blue patch
outside the walls that contain a prisoner of sorrow . . .
it is maybe
the first step toward healing.
It was for me . . .
finding even the smallest spark of gratefulness
can lift the heart enough
to let in a little light and air,
and it can only get better from there.
Sorrow is what it is.
Joy is what it is as well.
They are simply what they are . . .
nothing more
and nothing less.
Gratitude
was the key
that unlocks the cage
and lets the bird out,
timidly at first,
and eventually in its full-bodied glory. ♥
Not watching the news has been a great help to calm the chaos between my ears, dear Sparrow. It has taken awhile, first just watching 1/2 hour of news on one of the Denver Spanish language stations, now none at all. Newspapers have become a thing of the past here in the hinterlands. This machine is a Microsoft product, and I do read the headlines on their platform Edge. Do not want to be a complete ostrich!, dear Sparrow.
Newspapers here too,
dear Joseph,
have become a thing of the past . . .
I’ve recently begun practicing ‘the gentle art of blessing”
while watching the news.
It is fertile ground for planting seeds of goodwill
and takes the focus off of my personal angst.
This helps. ♥
ps. No,
we don’t want to become ostriches. 🙂
I think living gratefully has helped me to continue to develop empathy for the world’s joys and sorrows.
Living gratefully has taught me to find blessing, goodness, and gifts in situations and people that might otherwise seem to be only negative. I’ve been living gratefully for so long now, and it’s such a central part of who I am, it would be easy to forget it wasn’t always my approach to life. I make a point of remembering, though, because I don’t ever want to take for granted the richness, joy, and perspective that come with it. It’s no overstatement to say that living gratefully transformed my life and completely changed its trajectory.
Same here, and ain’t it a wonder how it works if I practice it Janice W.
This dramatic shift
happened for me as well,
dear Janice . . .
the change is amazing,
is it not? ♥
It absolutely is. I’ll always remember that before I started actively practicing gratitude—living gratefully—I thought I was a pretty grateful person. Then one day, I decided to try keeping a gratitude journal. It wasn’t long before every aspect of my life was radically transformed. Little things I wouldn’t have guessed had anything to do with gratitude changed dramatically for the better. Now I know all these things are well documented in gratitude research, but back then, I was just lost in the wonder of what seemed to be, and in truth was—an entirely new world! Later, I found Dr. Wayne Dyer’s great quotation that summed it all up perfectly: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
Keeping an actual pen and ink journal
has made all the difference for me too,
dear Janice.
Thank you
for the Wayne Dyer quote. ♥
I notice the smallest of joys, and take time to pay attention and appreciate. I find lessons and sometimes signs of hope in the sorrows. I choose to look for the good in things so when something dreadful happens that gives rise to those sorrows, I notice and am grateful for the people who respond with caring and help and those who work to try to prevent the bad from happening again. Joy and sorrow are like light and dark; without the darkness there is no light.
I also remember the story of the king who wanted something that would make him laugh when he was sad and make him cry when he was happy, or some variation of that. The phrase “This too shall pass” was the answer. A quick search led me to this version https://satibal.com/moral-story-this-too-shall-pass/ and this Wikipedia entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_too_shall_pass. Paying attention to joy gives me something to remember when sorrow comes. Paying attention to sorrow helps me appreciate joy. Both will pass.
Thank you,
dear Barb,
for the story,
which so perfectly expresses it all . . .
joy, sorrow,
pain and pleasure . . .
this too,
shall pass.
I love it. ♥
It’s given me resilience…
It can be easy to feel flooded by sorrows, and perceive them as reality. Grateful living helps me pause and expand my senses. I can deliberately look, listen, and reach for beauty and joy. Gratefulness gives me the autonomy to select how I experience life.
As a good friend told me once, “you can get glad in the same clothes you got sad in.”
Love it! ♥
Yes, love this too!
“Expand my senses” – yes move beyond the experienced feelings…maybe that is what occurs to help those highs and lows pass.
I focus on whatever’s within my control. This helps me realize that I have greater influence than I realize. Using influence and string-pulling fall under the same roof. The former has a positive connotation while the ladder is negative. It’s just like discipology vs buddy systems.
Speaking of discipology, I just finished the 28-day bible reading plan on that yesterday My main takeaway is that there’s a distinct difference that and buddy systems. Discipleship is pure while buddy systems have agendas. They talk a lot about twos and whos.
Twos and whos are an easy way to keep that circle smaller. Ngoc and Angela are my main twos and whos.
The part that jumps out in the reading is when Jesus told Peter to come with him. At first, Peter resisted and told Jesus that he came to the wrong guy. Jesus didn’t cave in. Once Peter bought in and came, he became a changed man for the better and one of the great disciples we know of today.
When Ngoc was in Vietnam, I had a Peter moment with my mom. She was the Jesus to my Peter by just approaching and talking to me. Of course, I was resistent at the beginning. Once I bought in, I benefitted greatly and have continued to evolve into a man of integrity.
Living gratefully has very much to do with now- right here in thr present not off in my mind world of thr past of future thoughts
. It’s easy for me to be grateful when all I see is life and all the beauty right hete. Now I can feel the somewhat lightly cool breeze flowing around my body and the sunshiny blue sky overhead. I can hear the sounds of a distant lawnmower buzzing and seagulls screaming as well as birds singing. I can also fill there is an abundance of pollen in the air making me sneeze! 😂
I am so grateful to the universe method which is to actually BECOME complete while we are alive ! This is truly a miracle and something to be thankful for. Thank you and happy summer everyone.
“Not off in my mind world of thr past of future thoughts.” I can relate to this-living in thr present moment-thank you!
Living gratefully helps me respond to joys and sorrows as I am blessed. Because joys bring me happiness and sorrows bring me empathy for the world. They are all part of my humankind.
My Ngoc, living gratefully sure is a win-win.
Living gratefully reminds me that the sorrows hurt because there was something extremely wonderful that was lost to cause the sorrow. I don’t remember her exact words but as Dolly says “ You can’t have rainbows without the rain”.
Or the Buddha: “No mud, no lotus.”
I would enjoy some mud!
Deann, it’s just like with Ngoc going to Vietnam and California respectively for those 5 weeks. That was tough for both her and me. Finally being able to see each other is the rainbow.
Living gratefully keeps me centered in the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows, of life. I can pause before responding and truly observe what is happening.
Joy and sorrow are commingled. They are part of our human existence. Gratefulness is a still point in the eye of the storm. When I’m grateful I am centered as an unattached witness.
There are joys and sorrows of the world each and everyday. By focusing on being present I can see both. There will always be both. I pray and hope for a better world and wish the sorrows could go away. Joys fill my heart and soul which make me smile. Living gratefully makes me Stop.Look.Go.
https://nationaltoday.com/national-sugar-cookie-day/ – a joy for many, a sorrow for those who have diabetes.
Practicing living gratefully has allowed me to not take either joy or sorrow for granted. Living with loving kindness for both the light and dark of our world. Less judgement, and when judgement arises, examining with Tara Brachs RAIN (recognize, allow, investigate, nurture) presents me the inner spaciousness to become non-judgmental, for I live in a glass house too. The world has true evil, as well as true goodness, love and kindness. Gratefulness has opened and allowed this appreciation and acceptance of such truths to enter my life.
Peace, Love & Light.
Gratefulness is humbling,
dear Joseph,
isn’t it?
After all,
we all live in glass houses . . .
no one of us
is either above or below. ♥
Thank you, Joseph… I appreciate your mention of loving kindness and RAIN. Very helpful!
Your reminder of Tara Brach’s RAIN was a helpful reminder to me to step back when being judgmental. My default is to blame myself. This gives me breathing room which does result in spaciousness. You describe this process so well, Joseph. Thank you.