dailydatewithgod

Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” I like simple and I like enough.  My heart breathes a sigh of relief when I give thanks.  My body relaxes and my soul rejoices.  It is a way of practicing acceptance, being in reality, and recognizing that all of life is a gift that is given.  Being thankful is not always easy when the circumstances I am presented with are less than ideal or terrible.  But if I truly acknowledge in my heart that God is more than any experience or situation or idea in my mind, then I have something to be thankful for.  Gratitude is the quickest way out of any kind of mind funk.  It is easy to go on with the litany of things that I don’t like or wish were different but being grateful allows me to take a step back and notice the simple joys of life.  I am thankful for my breath, being alive today, feeling whatever it is that I am feeling, not being alone, having ten fingers and ten toes, clothes to wear, a roof over my head, a mind to think, ability to choose what to focus on, and situations from which to learn and grow.  As part of my spiritual practice I write out a gratitude list of at least 10 things each night before I go to bed and I try to put several different things on there each night.  I have found over the years that when I go to bed thinking of the things I am grateful for my mind marinates in that soup all night and life is worth looking forward to in the morning.

My prayer for us is the acknowledgment that being thankful is a gift to our entire being and we can be grateful for the power of being able to give thanks this day.

If you were to list five things you are thankful for about this day, what would you put on your list?  Share in the comments.