This is part 1 of 2 posts on gratitude, that will conclude on Thanksgiving eve. My hope is for this series to serve a similar purpose for Thanksgiving that advent serves for Christmas. May it provide time to reflect on what it means to walk in the way of gratitude. It should be noted that these posts were primarily inspired by my reading of the book “Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us” by Christine Pohl.
My favorite holiday has always been the overlooked, under appreciated, often neglected, celebration of Thanksgiving. Yes, that holiday when you eat turkey, watch football, talk with family, nap, and not celebrate Christmas. Yep, that one. I know I am probably in the minority, as Thanksgiving’s older cousin, Christmas, usually dominates the later half of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in for Christmas. Lights, presents, stockings, and actual real tree, the whole bit. But, Thanksgiving has always held a dear place in my heart. There is something about sitting around a table with loved ones, eating a good meal, laughing and sharing stories that speaks to my soul. I have always been intrigued by a holiday that is centered around gratitude.
In 2011, the New York Times published an article entitled, “A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day.” In the article, John Tierney argues the connection between gratitude and greater health. Tierney writes, “cultivating an ‘attitude of gratitude’ has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners.” Tierney argues a connection between our physical health and our ability to give thanks. If this is true, which I have no reason to suggest it isn’t, gratitude and our health are intertwined.
Consequently, gratitude is a central part of being human. But what is gratitude? What does a practice of gratitude look like?
I think to begin we have to understand that gratitude requires slowing down. Gratitude begins with slowing down to see beauty and grace and goodness all around us. It requires intentionality. It requires time to think about what we have been given. Yet, much of our culture works against a position of gratitude. Our lives move too fast, our schedules are too full, our margins too slim. It seems gratitude is simply too inefficient for our lives. In a culture of “do,” gratitude stands against the grain saying slow down. Reflect. Pause. Consider.
Our tendency, at least my tendency, is to place gratitude on a to-do list, complete the task and receive the benefits. But gratitude cannot be coerced. It cannot be manufactured, it is something that must be cultivated. An existence centered around ourselves cannot cultivate gratitude, because gratitude is fundamentally others-centric. It is a posture of humility, looking outside oneself to reflect on the beauty around us. It is about what you have been given even though you didn’t deserve it.
This other-centric posture is where we find endless opportunities to give thanks. When we stop to look around we notice the good in the world. Rather than viewing what we lack, we realize the abundance that has been given to us. Each day we are presented with opportunities of thanks. Theologian William Law says,
“Receive…every day as a resurrection from death, as a new enjoyment of life; meet every rising sun with such sentiments of God’s goodness, as if you had seen it, and all things, newly created upon your account; and under the sense of so great a blessing, let your joyful heart praise and magnify so good and glorious a Creator.”
Mornings, sunsets, laughter, meals, friends, coffee, good books, entertainment, family, food, art, music, rain, all opportunities for us to reflect and give thanks. Humming with beauty all around us is a world inviting us to slow down and give thanks. The way of gratitude is slow, it is inefficient, and requires moving ourselves out of the center of the world to see the beauty around us. As the holidays approach, may we not get lost in the busyness, but reflect on "every new day as a resurrection."