Being Grateful

Bronwen LoganArticles, English 2 Comments

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As I continue to delve deeper into the meaning of the precepts, I want to explore the interpretation of gratitude. I see gratitude as the understanding of all what is given to me in the sense of nature, friendships, opportunities, health, kindness, companionship and most of all love.
Having the wisdom to understand and to appreciate these gifts will humble me to see the excess that I live in. Learning to appreciate what I have at times can be more difficult than just wanting more. I have grown up in a world that embraces excess, wanting more than one can use. I have come to realize without my health, companionship, kindness, or love, the world becomes a very dark and lonely place. 
We are given many different paths and opportunities in life, some very difficult and quite challenging, maybe even life threatening. Being able to see these challenges as opportunities to grow within, has opened my heart to others and their challenges in life.
Being grateful for what I have, not what I want, gives me a calming passion to see into the eyes of others. This compassion for others help builds new friendships on paths previously unseen. Life slows down to appreciate all the beauty that surrounds us, only if one takes the time to just look.
It has been said one must die before one can truly live. Having danced with cancer and death, I have learned to slow down and appreciate the little things in life. The beauty of nature, the many friendships that helped me better understand kindness, companionship, and love along with the opportunity for change has given me the spiritual wisdom to be grateful for all I have.
Being grateful for all I have isn’t about material possessions, but rather being aware of the abundance around us. Various spiritual leaders have asserted that by living in the poverty of attachment to material possessions, only then one can open their heart to everything that is.
As we live in a consumer driven world, our growing desire for possessions is slowly dwindling the room in our heart for kindness, tolerance, forgiveness and love. This gives one the opportunity for change, if we can just open our heart to others to see their light within. Letting their light in, will grow our compassion for others, especially those who are different than us in either mind, body or spirit. This will open the door into being one with one another.
Being grateful will calm our minds from the many distractions in life. Distractions diminish our engagement and connections will others. Mikao Usui found enlightenment in the mountains in the release all his distractions. Mikao had the wisdom to be grateful for the bounty that surrounded him. One only needs to take this opportunity to see and feel it.
In opening one’s inner heart to the light around us, one will discover the gratitude in knowing what is. Being able to live in the now of what is, will warm one’s essence of compassion. Learning to be grateful for what I have, has opened my heart to the spiritual energy of others on a path to happiness. For all this, I’m quite grateful.

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