Gratitude is not often a great wind, but a gentle breeze.
Gratitude does not often come as a tempest, a storm to batter and rage.
Gratitude comes quietly and gently; indeed, it often needs to be sought out, like a finger raised to the sky, moistened by your mouth, discerning the direction of the silent breeze.
Gratitude can often seem a fool's game; when it is so easy to take - what need is there for gratefulness?
Gratitude can often seem empty; when it is genuinely offered and scorned - what point is there for gratefulness?
Gratitude can often seem futile; when it seems like all that surrounds is hardship - what chance is there for gratefulness?
Yet gratitude is not often a great wind, but a gentle breeze.
Yet gratitude does not often come as a tempest, a storm to batter and rage.
Yet gratitude, when it comes, comes quietly and gently; indeed, it often needs to be sought out, like a finger raised to the sky, moistened by your mouth, discerning the direction of the silent breeze.
~
I consider gratitude to be a skill, something that needs to be practiced often - else it is left forgotten. Where can we find the space to practice a skill, to open a window for the light breeze of gratitude to drift in?
Whilst there is much to lament in 2020, individually and corporately as pieces in the jigsaw of created life, there are perhaps spaces for gratitude to be nurtured too.
Perhaps join me in deliberate gratitude?
I am grateful for:
- A year of dedicated language learning. Studying Japanese has fuelled my brain, and tended to my passion for people, culture, and travel.
- The fledgling Worldly Wellbeing podcast and website, built with a dear, dear friend offering an outlet for creativity, conversation, and consideration.
- A connection to my body that I've previously resisted; through yoga I've begun that journey.
- The clarity that reduction brings, offering perspective on what I thought was wanted and needed.
- Connectivity with those dearest to my heart by those efforts made to remain close, even in distance.