Closing out November with thanksgiving for so many blessings during these challenging times, and in anticipation of Advent 2022, with hopeful hearts, I share this reflection on the virtue that has been known to cancel out “fear:”
GRATITUDE
- To be grateful for what is, instead of underscoring what is not.
- To find good amid the unwanted aspects of life, without denying the presence of the unwanted.
- To focus on beauty in the little things of life, as well as being deliberate about the great beauties of art, literature, music, and nature.
- To be present to one’s own small space of life, while stretching to the wide world beyond it.
- To find something to laugh about in every day, even when there seems nothing to laugh about.
- To search for and to see the good in others, rather than remembering their faults and weaknesses.
- To be thankful for each loving deed done by another, no matter how insignificant it might appear.
- To taste life to the fullest, and not take any part of it for granted.
- To seek to forgive others for their wrongdoings, even immense ones, and to put the past behind.
- To find ways to reach out and help the disenfranchised, while also preserving their dignity and self-worth.
- To be as loving and caring as possible, in a culture that consistently challenges these virtues.
- To remember to say or send “thank you” for whatever comes as a gift from another.
- To be at peace, with what cannot be changed.
Joyce Rupp. The Circle of Life (2005)