It’s November and Facebook is blowing up with ‘Thankful Lists.’ These lists say something like, “Today I’m thankful for my house, my family, my car, my bathtub and my Pumpkin Spice latte.” My list usually includes my space heater and my warm socks.
But gratitude deserves more attention than your 30-day Facebook List. It deserves more attention than the ten minutes at the Thanksgiving table when your family members identify one thing they are grateful for before digging into fall roasted veggies.
In reality, gratitude is the only reasonable response to being alive.
Why? Because if you really think about it, being alive is practically a miracle.
Whether or not you pause to acknowledge it, a joyful, abundant, and healthy life is pouring itself upon you in each moment.
This is one reason we practice finding and paying attention to the ‘Present Moment’ in yoga. And it’s the whole reason that yoga makes us happier. Michael Brown explains this in his book The Presence Process. He writes:
“What is Present Moment Awareness? It is a State of Being in which we effortlessly integrate the authentic and Divine Presence that we are with each God-Given moment that we are in so that we are able to respond consciously to every experience we are having. By accomplishing this, our response is always the same: gratitude.”
Meaning: if I’m aware that the moment I’m living is part of a joyful, abundant, and healthy life, then the ONLY reasonable response is gratitude. That’s all there is to it.
Take a moment to do the most important thing you will do all day: extend your deepest gratitude for this moment and for all of the many blessings which bring you joy in this life.
