A View From My Window- What If Gratitude Doesn't Need A Reason?

Gratitude is the Attitude that brings Altitude!

My little great-granddaughter is three years old. She has been taught to say

please and thank you, and even “you’re welcome!” Her parents have set

her on a path that will make her life, and the lives of those around her, more

pleasant. I applaud that. There is something quite delightful about hearing

those words from a small person who is just beginning to discover how to

live among us.

I still love the little thank-you card that arrives in the mail after a gift. Among

the bills and flyers, there it is: someone has taken a moment to

acknowledge a kindness. It brings a heart-warmed smile to the person who

receives it, and I suspect the person who wrote it feels a little glow as well.

The gift has already been given, yet something is still moving between

them.

What is it about sincere gratitude that touches us and brings us closer

together?

For me, gratitude reaches beyond courtesy and appreciation. In its deepest

form, it doesn’t even need to be for something. It is an energy, an attitude,

a direction in which we turn ourselves. I can feel grateful before I have

made a list of reasons, much as I can feel love without stopping to explain

why.

Perhaps you have known mornings like that. Nothing particularly wonderful

has happened. There are still dishes in the sink, things to attend to, and a

world that seems determined to keep us concerned. Yet you stand at the

window with a warm cup in your hands, watch the light move across the

garden, and feel a quiet welcome for the day. For a moment, being here is

enough.

That is the gratitude I am trying to describe.

I see it as a creative power. When I enter into gratitude, I become more

open to life. I notice possibilities I might otherwise have missed. I am more

willing to give, to receive, and to take part in whatever wants to grow. To

me, that is the Law of Attraction at work: the energy we bring to life helps

shape what we invite into it.

Think of what happens when someone receives your contribution with

warmth. Perhaps you have brought a dish to share, offered an idea, or

you have made time to listen. Their gratitude gives your offering somewhere

to land. You feel welcomed, and often you want to contribute again.

Something begins to circulate: kindness, interest, generosity, enjoyment.

Each person adds to it, and there is more available for everyone.

I believe we can enter into that same kind of relationship with life itself.

One of my mentors told me many years ago, “The attitude of gratitude

brings altitude.” It made me smile then, and it still does. I don’t think we can

be grateful and hateful at the same time. Gratitude lifts our eyes, even if

only for a moment, and gives us a little more room to breathe. The

circumstances may be exactly as they were, yet we meet them from a

different place—and that can change our next choice.

This matters to me because gratitude has room for an honest life. There

can be sorrow, weariness, disappointment, and unanswered questions.

Some days are hard. On those days, gratitude may be in the support: the

comfort of someone sitting beside us, the warmth of a blanket, or the

willingness to let another person help. We can allow that small warmth its

place without asking it to explain away everything else we feel.

There are many facets to gratitude. There is the thank-you we learn as

children, and the appreciation we feel for a gift, an opportunity, or a helping

hand. Then there is the quiet wonder of being alive at all—of seeing the

beauty of this world and knowing we are part of it.

After a season of growing and gathering, I find that wonder close at hand. A

seed, some soil, water, sunlight, and our attention have become food to put

on the table. We have done our share of the work, certainly, but what an

extraordinary partnership we have been allowed to join. I can plant a seed

and tend it; the life within it does the growing.

Beyond even that, I believe gratitude can be a deliberate joining of

ourselves to something much larger: a powerful expression of unity with the

forces of creation. We bring our attention, our choices, and our willingness

to participate; life brings possibilities we could never have arranged on our

own.

This is part of what I hope we offer through Casaroma. Whether we are

listening to someone, creating a blend, or sharing something in this

Wellness letter, there is an opportunity to give our attention to the life in front of

us. Over the years, so many of you have contributed to that life through

your stories, your questions, your humour, and your trust. What we offer

grows through that exchange. Gratitude keeps me aware of how much we

are creating together.

And sometimes the doorway into gratitude is wonderfully simple. The scent

of an evergreen on a walk. A familiar aroma that brings someone dear to

mind. The pleasure of rubbing a sprig of rosemary between our fingers.

Such moments invite us to pause long enough to receive what is already

here. In a busy day, that pause can feel like opening a window.

Perhaps this week we could give ourselves a few moments to enter into

gratitude before deciding what we are grateful for. Sit with a cup of tea, step

outside, or enjoy a scent you love. Let the list of things to do wait a little.

See what it feels like to meet the moment with a willing heart.

There may be a little more ease, a little more curiosity, or a fresh breeze of

spontaneous joy. Perhaps we find ourselves making a phone call, offering a

kindness, or saying yes to something we might otherwise have passed by.

Gratitude has begun to move into action.

Thanksgiving gives us a lovely occasion to express it, but gratitude is

available on an ordinary morning too, with unfinished work on the table and

no particular reason we can name.

We don’t have to wait for life to give us something to be thankful for. We

can bring gratitude to life—and see what grows.