Wrap Gratitude Around You Like A Cloak

This summer I took my niece and daughter to Lake Winne for the afternoon. One of my favorite places at Lake Winne is the lazy river. Who does not love the allure of a lazy river, where you can peacefully float in the water at a slow pace and let your worries melt away? It was my niece’s 12th birthday weekend and my two-year-old daughter’s first time in a lazy river, and I was super excited to mosey in the water with them. But unfortunately, we had not even taken one full spin around the lazy river, when a lifeguard told everyone in the water, he had seen lightning and we were all going to have to get out. And in less than 5 minutes it started pouring. I looked at the weather radar on my phone and it looked like the rain would be steadfast until the park closed.  

As we were leaving the amusement park in our wet clothes, I was feeling a little sorry for myself and the kids that we did not get to spend time at the waterpark. We had thoroughly enjoyed many of the park’s rides, but my dream of enjoying the water park and particularly the lazy river was not to be. The rain tapered off for a few minutes as we walked out the door of Lake Winne, and my niece asked if we could walk back and thank an older gentleman, for his service to our country. I told her yes and the three of us walked up to a man in the marine veteran’s ballcap and my niece said, “Sir. I wanted to thank you for your service to our country.” I echoed her sentiments and the man thanked us and said that it never gets old to have people thank him because of all he went through. I noticed he was emotional and visibly touched by my niece’s sincere tone. He said it was especially meaningful for such a young person to come up and thank him and he pointed to his throat and said he was getting choked up. He went on to ask her several questions about her school and then we parted ways with the kind man. 

As we walked away, I had tears in my eyes, because I was reminded of the power of gratitude. I also was humbled by how by niece had become my teacher. My head was in the clouds, worried about what we did not get to do, while she was thankful for all the rides we had been on and what we had done, which led to her being mindful to pay attention to the veteran and to thank him for his service.

When I was in my 20s, I had spent one year working full-time as a resident chaplain at a VA Hospital. I had seen firsthand, the spiritual, emotional, physical, and economic sacrifices veterans make. After working primarily with veterans from Korea’s “Forgotten War” and with Vietnam Veterans who returned from war only to be spit on and have objects thrown at them, I had been quite intentional for many years to thank veterans who had served our country. But lately, I have not been as mindful to say thank you to veterans, and I want to set a resolution to be more like my niece and exercise gratitude regularly.

I have noticed the power of gratitude in my own life. When I am more intentional to say thank you to my husband, it strengthens our marriage. When I am more mindful to be thankful for what is good in my life, I am a much happier person. An attitude of gratitude can change you, your relationships, and the world around you. 

An article in the Huffington Post, The Neuroscience of Why Gratitude Makes Us Happier, highlights a ten-week study, conducted by Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., and Mike McCullough, which links gratitude practices to happiness levels. 

All participants in the study were asked to keep a short journal and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 

• Group one was asked to journal five things they were grateful for that had occurred weekly 
• Group two documented five hassles from the week. 
• A neutral group were asked to list five events that affected them – they were not asked to focus on these being positive or negative. 

After the study, participants in group one felt better about their lives and they were 25% happier than the group that documented the troubles of their life. 

You can complain about your alarm clock going off in the morning or you can give thanks it is a sign you are alive. You can grumble about doing laundry or you can be grateful you have a home. You can moan about taxes, or you can remember they signify the fact you have employment. I can have a pity party inside my own mind about not getting to spend time at the water park at Lake Winne, or I can be mindful of what a gift it is to be able to take my loved ones to a lovely local amusement park. 

I invite you to take a moment and bring your prayer hands to the skin of your chest. With your hands at heart center say out loud or silently in your heart: 

May I have a grateful heart 

Then move your prayer hands to your lips and say out loud or silently in your heart: 

May I have grateful words 

The move your prayer hands to your forehead and say out loud or silently in your heart: 

May I have a grateful mind. 

The poet Rumi said, “Wrap gratitude around you like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.” What are you thankful for in your life? Who do you need to be more intentional to say thank you to?  May thankfulness be your cloak of choice. 

A version of this article was originally published in the http://mountainmirror.com