A Gratitude Meditation
Fanny Crosby is a prolific hymn writer, who wrote more than 9000 hymns in the early 1900s. One thing that might surprise you is that she wrote all of these songs as a blind woman! As an infant, Fanny became quite sick and a man pretending to be a certified doctor prescribed an eye treatment to her. Unfortunately, this quack doctor’s prescription left Fanny blind. A few months later, Fanny’s father died. Her mother found work as a maid to support the family and Fanny was raised primarily by her grandmother. In one of her hymns she wrote: “Oh, what a happy soul I am, / although I cannot see! / I am resolved that in this world / Contented I will be.”
Having a spirit of happiness and contentment, does not mean that we deny the harsh realities we face in our lives. You might have witnessed your health and vitality decline in the past year, you may be looking for job, perhaps you’ve experienced the death of a significant loved one and virtually all of us have been impacted by living in a world that seems so polarized and estranged. We are baffled by the lack of kindness in our culture. We are astonished by the violence across our country and this world. And yet, in the midst of these evils and struggles, Fanny Crosby’s own story compels us to find gratitude.
For more than 10 years, I visited people in nursing homes, to provide spiritual and emotional care to patients who were dying. One of the things I noticed visiting nursing homes was that the people who were kind and thankful, usually received help from their caregivers more quickly. The staff seemed to respond better to a grateful person, than they would to someone who was demanding or grouchy. Now I strongly believe people should be treated with dignity and receive loving care no matter how they act, but I say this to point out that there is something about being thankful that not only changes us, but it changes the people around us.
All of us probably know someone who always seems to focus on the bad hand life has dealt them, maybe to the point that they sound like the Debbie Downer character on Saturday Night Live. We also probably know someone who is eternally optimistic, to the degree that they sound like they are Pollyanna. I think we all should be striving to find balance between our pain and gratitude, so that we tap into our inner Debbie Downer and Pollyanna. I think it is vitally important to share our grief and to talk about the difficulties we all face in life. Part of what it means to be human is to share and verbalize our anger, sadness, grief, and difficulties. But I also think we will experience more fullness and joy in life, if we live in a spirit of gratitude.
Today, I invite you to join me in a brief meditation. You can start this meditation by taking a deep breath in and then find an exhale. And then say these three words to yourself: “I am grateful.” Now take a moment in your mind’s eye to imagine someone in your life who brings life and joy to your spirit. I want you to visualize this person and thank God for them. Again, either verbally or silently join in this mantra: “I am grateful.”
Let’s take the “ful” off “I am grateful” and either verbally or silently utter the words, “I am great.” You are not saying this in a narcissistic way, but in a way to recognize that you are made in God’s image and to celebrate the unique gifts you have to offer the world. Take a moment to think of a specific talent you have. Maybe it is the ability to encourage or the gift to speak or the knack to motivate people. Perhaps you don’t even realize the skills you have, but somewhere deep within your heart, I want you to know that you are a gift. Take a moment to be thankful for your own unique abilities and say one more time inaudibly or out loud, “I am great.”
Now, I want us to take the “great” off our mantra and say “I am.” Either say it aloud or quietly mouth the words “I am” to yourself. Take a moment to be thankful for the gift of existence. Take your hand to your heart and as you mindfully listen to the drumbeat of your heart, why not offer thanks for the profound gift to be living this very moment?
Let’s stay aware of all we have to be thankful for, of the unique abilities we have to offer the world and of the gift to exist and experience abundant life.
Feeling gratitude for you,
Christy
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