11_21_2021

Gaining New Perspectives on Gratitude

                On one of my morning walks this past week, I treated myself to listening to a podcast On Being moderated by Kristin Tippett. Her guests included Pico Iyer and Elizabeth Gilbert, with Pico asking Elizabeth questions on her thoughts pertaining to a future of hope. Specifically, Pico was exploring with Elizabeth how living through the Pandemic has transformed her.

                When I call up what I know about Elizabeth Gilbert, the image that comes to mind is of a woman that lives a full and interesting life. One of her first books published in 2006 — Eat, Pray, Love — chronicles her quest for self-discovery following her divorce. She spends a year or so traveling first to Italy before spending time in India and finally in Indonesia.

                Even readers who may not have enjoyed her book or the movie in which Julia Roberts represents her, you have to admit that the woman is willing to take risks. She does step out of her comfort zone as she tries to figure out what makes sense for the next chapter in her life.

                What resonated with me from listening to the podcast was Gilbert’s sharing on how she feels living through the Pandemic has changed her. Like many of us, she shared that she spent the last eighteen months spending time alone in her home in New Jersey. Used to extensive travel that comes with speaking engagements, spending so much time in her own was a change that she wasn’t sure how she would adjust.

                Imagine the changes that might accompany going from a very extroverted lifestyle and existence to living like a hermit. Fortunately for her and for many of us, she has adjusted well. She shared that the experience of living a simpler life has led her “to lower her standards for experiencing gratitude.” 

                We can all get caught up in thinking that we have to travel to exotic sites or be part of something extraordinary before we can register gratitude. Instead, left to nesting in our homes we have the time to notice and appreciate all of the wonderful experiences that are waiting for us to take notice. I am reminded of the quote from the Irish poet, David Whyte, about what awaits us daily:

“Put down the weight of your aloneness, and ease into the

 conversation. The kettle is singing

even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots

have left their arrogant aloofness and

seen the good in you at last. All the birds

and creatures of the world are unutterably

themselves. Everything is waiting for you.”

                Like Gilbert, spending most days entirely within my home, I came to appreciate it all the more. I’ve invested time and care into making my house my home, and each morning I wake up feeling  so grateful that I have such a lovely environment that just by its simple beauty offers me a surround sound of loveliness each day.

                Outside my kitchen windows, I have an assortment of bird feeders that might be more accurately named as bird, squirrel, and chipmunk feeding stations. Occasionally a raccoon passes by and scoops up the fallen seed. As I wash dishes after a meal, I am treated to the beauty and the surprising antics of these outdoor critters. Yesterday I was pulling fallen leaves out of my climbing hydrangea bushes that line my fence, and I discovered three bird nests nestled within them. I had an inkling that Blue jays had built nests within this area as I watched them lose themselves in the bushes all spring and summer. What a nice thought to know that my plantings provided a home to birds this past summer.

                Taking a moment to let the wonder of these surprising moments register, I notice I am smiling from the extraordinary gift of such simple acts that are ours for the taking if we can simply slow down and just observe.

                It seems like every day that I walk there are surprising gifts awaiting me. Conscious that we will soon be moving into Advent, and as someone who enjoys the Jackie Lawson electronic Advent calendars, I feel like everyday there is a window or door inviting me to open it to experience the offered daily joy. Nearing my home on the same day that I listened to the podcast mentioned at the beginning, I was within a couple of blocks of home with the sun came out and lit up the golden leaves on a red maple tree in my neighbor’s yard. The tree appeared as those it had a spotlight highlighting its beauty.

                Experiencing what I consider a gift of having so much time alone has taken me down a path where I’m much more focused on what is available to me in my daily life. Instead of looking for flashing lights and big events to mark time, I am becoming more at peace with just enjoying the daily gifts that are available to me in a simpler lifestyle.

                Surrounded as we seem to be at this point in our country’s history with so much hate and divisiveness, I recognize that there isn’t all that much that I can do to change the hatefulness that is so much a part of some of our fellow travelers’ lives. Instead, I am focusing on how my daily actions informed by acts of kindness might bring a ray or two of sunshine into another’s life.

                Wishing those of you who take the time to read my Blogs a peaceful Thanksgiving. May you be granted time to experience the quiet gratitude that is ours when we slow down enough to notice the beauty “that is waiting for us.”

                Namaste.