Thursday = Thank you

One pathway to living in gratitude is getting more connected to your whole self. As we use laughter and playful movement to become more present, engaged, and connected to ourselves and what we care about, we easily come to appreciate the beauty of ourselves and our lives.

There is probably no attitude that brings us a longer way toward happiness than gratitude. On Thursday, we can focus especially on being grateful for the abundance in our lives and it will likely brighten our day. An attitude of gratitude brings serenity and laughter. It is easy to be pulled into materialism and think about what is missing and what we wish we could buy. Yet, there is wisdom that Sheryl Crow sang, “It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you have!” At least once a week, we can ask ourselves, “What am I grateful for in my life?” Often, I start my Thursday, as soon as I wake up with this inquiry. I often begin with “I’m grateful for my bed” … it’s something simple, but I appreciate it. Then I may note that I’m grateful for the person next to me, my wife, Paula. I’m grateful for my boys, Andrew and Michael, and that we are all healthy. I’m grateful I get to be a dad. The more we focus on gratitude, it can be amazing how much we take for granted. Consider something like water. If you are reading this book, I’m betting that you are not likely part of the over one billion people on the planet who has to travel over a kilometer for clean water. We can be grateful that we can turn on the tap and drink the water. (If you shave at the Edmonton YMCA and have ever gotten a look from me while you left the water running, now you know why). Part of the beauty of putting our focus on what we have and being grateful for it, is that it shifts us from seeing the negative. When I have a speck of mindfulness and I catch myself being upset, I can almost always change my mood and outlook by considering what I could be grateful for in the situation. For example, I’m standing in line at Costco and some couple is searching through the ninth compartment of their wallets trying to locate a form of identification more reputable than their Quisp I.D. card so they can pay by check. As I notice my growing irritation, I consider what I could be thankful for … like I have a cart full of food and other cool stuff and I have the resources to pay for it … that I was able to choose freely about coming here and I have this abundance of choices. Evenin more severe situations, such as when one of our family members is ill, we can be grateful for having someone we love so much in our lives, we can be thankful for the availability of healthcare. You may have noticed that I’m not telling you things you don’t already know, but you may also be aware that these good ideas don’t stay with you every day. This is why practices are so valuable. In a keynote address at Stanford University’s Multifaith Baccalaureate Celebration on June 11, 2005, the marvelous author Sylvia Boorstein, described her practice of gratitude:

“We e-mail each other every single day and I write to Carol what I am grateful for that day, and she writes to me. It’s not a letter. I don’t even write “Dear Carol.” I say, “I am grateful today for” this and this and this. She writes the same. I don’t have to respond to her, she doesn’t have to respond to me. When we started, it was easy. She went back to Massachusetts, she said, “I’m grateful the snow is melting.” I wrote to her, “I am grateful I live in California, we already have crocuses and daffodils.” Perhaps you would like to e-mail someone everyday or once a week to express your gratitude. You can write to gratitude@hohodojo.com; we will be grateful to hear from you.

“As mentioned on page 38 of The HoHo Dojo: Lighten Up and Love Life Laughing, you can download a one-page handout of daily practices”