Nov. 25, 2013 Experiencing Gratitude Life is filled with difficult choices. The goal is to be able to make wise ones, causing as little harm to ourselves and others as possible. If this were easy, we would all do it. But most of the time, our choices are made by only thinking of ourselves. It is by chance alone that often others are assisted in the process. Once we begin to experience gratitude on a daily basis, the true nature of our choices start to be revealed. This can either be a glorious indicator of our actions, or a bitter pill of revelation of who we actually are at our core....and why we made those choices to begin with. When true change is deemed necessary (and like all decisions, this would have to be made alone, within ones own heart and mind) we simply cannot ignore gratitude. Much like I think about Love, gratitude is something most of us fail at on a monumental level. And yet it is one of the foundational building blocks of a strong, individual human heart and mind. The healthier and more balanced a human is, the more the concepts of love and gratitude seem to be abundant. But, can one experience gratitude without understanding it? Can anyone become an active user of something they cannot define? Can we give away what we do not posses? 24 hours ago I would have said no. However, today I would say a cautiously defined yes. Let us see if I can explain this idea. Because you see, we are back to instinct vs. choice. The difference between the sentient mind of humanity, and the mysteries nature. We instinctively breath. We do this to survive. And yet we do not often consider air or lungs, unless they fail us or are become unavailable. They are an instinctual part of us. And by each birth, we give this ability to breath to our children...but only by instinct, not by our choice. Of course we would not choose to not give the ability to breath to new borns, but we still are not the givers of this ability, nature (or to many, God, is). It is not ours to give. We do not yet own that kind of ability. At the very best, it is instinct and instinct is still a natural phenomenon. As we grow, we then begin to process thought. In that process, we then begin to have countless experiences just by being alive, we learn instinctively. Then, something that is constantly overlooked by humanity occurs; we begin to choose our experiences, we learn by choice. We either choose higher experiences or the baser, more simple ones. This can be both freeing or defeating, depending on those choices. That is a reason (and oft forgotten key) to always keeping an open mind. (on an aside here, this is where legalism is born. In the idea that some things are verboten and should never be done. This idea is fear based and a control issue by religions and governments alike. It also allows the weakest of humanity to clearly judge others harshly, something gratitude and love does not have the ability to do. it is also the father to every war, conflict and -ism that continues to separate humanity.) A closed mind tends to experience less or more self obsessed experiences, thus diminishing our higher life experiences and forcing us to become myopic. Why would any of us choose a window view only, over an unrestricted view of the sky? The best antidote for facing fear and life is experiences. And the pinnacle of the human life is knowing who we are. Nothing provides this like experiences do, both within ourselves and without. They free us from our bonds of fear, expectations, entitlements...and falsehood. They afford us the ability to grow and change. And when our foundations are strong and built on the best possible ideals of balance and strength, we may not be able to control what life and nature have cross our paths, but we can control our actions during those difficult times. This is life. This is living the fully experienced life. This is how one can show gratitude in the darkest of times, revealing to ones self where work may be required within us, where a negative can then be viewed not as a negative but simply as another experience, no matter how unpleasant. It then can become a chance to grow. Allow each of your experiences to plant the seeds of hope, love and gratitude, that is our choice. And when tended properly, the rewards will be a harvest of a more open and loving mind and heart in the future...all because we made the choice to experience gratitude.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:42:31 +0000
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