Nature of Gratitude

A  L  O  H  A !

 'Any fool can be happy.

 It takes real heart to

 make beauty out of 

the stuff that 

makes us weep.' 

                     Clive Barker

Linking to

Good Fences

Open Road

“Carpe every damn diem.” 

Justine Musk

"There are years

 that ask questions

 and years that 

answer." 

             Zora Neale Hurston

[''']

In the USA, today is

a holiday dedicated

to gratitude.

The earliest Europeans

on these shores

would likely have

perished if not for

the generosity of the

First Nations 

already here.

The settlers were grateful

to their God, and to

their neighbors.

[one hopes]

Lately, 

I have given thought

to gratitude. One starts

by noticing things to be

grateful for, noticing,

and expressing it.

It became a habit with me,

and a nice one that

certainly improved my life.

But is gratitude a feeling?

My habit of feeling grateful got

somewhat pushed out of the way

in all the folderol of moving.

I was preoccupied with finding

new ways, places clothes, routines.

How could I be grateful for

what was still overwhelming?

So I started to wonder if

it is valid to express gratitude

when you are just not feeling it?

Is that insincere and false,

or is it lovely and powerful?

Saying 'Thank You'

to the universe, to God,

to your subconscious, is a

powerful and insidious thing!

Saying 'Thank You' for arising,

even though I was just

going through the moves

caused chemical reactions

and soon I FELT

grateful again!

Feelings are valuable guides,

but I think we make them

too important. Carry on.

Don't wait till you feel like it.

And who knows?

Maybe soon you 

WILL-

Thank YOU!

              warmly, cloudia