Gratitude, a way forward in the dark
HOW TO SEE IN THE DARK - Part 7
When you feel like you can't see the way forward, or that your current experiences are murking up the water making it hard to make decisions and to know what to do, gratitude will clear the way, it will open your eyes, it will help you see in the dark.
And these are dark times. Whether its COVID-19, job and income loss, a sense of hopelessness, relationship heartache, chronic pain, anger, frustration... whatever it is that is clouding your judgement, tightening your heart - sometimes the way forward is hard to see for all the mess and clamour of life. There is so much happening on so many different levels, it's natural and easy to feel overwhelmed and stunned into paralysis.
But you know what? These are also good times.
Take a minute to think about it some of the good things you've witnessed, and maybe even been a part of?
The human spirit is resilient and hopeful at its core. And it's at times like these that the goodness that was stitched into the fabric of our beings at creation (you are, after all, inherently good, NOT evil) awakens and rises and gathers its strength.
When Paul wrote to his friends and told them:
In the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God's perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus...*
He wasn't setting some super-spiritual, unattainable, toxically positive standard. That's not what it is. He was teaching his friends that the way to find goodness is to believe that it is already here. You don't have to be thankful for everything, but in everything that you go through, gratitude will bring you back home, will wrap you in grace, will open your eyes, and will find for you the joy you need to keep on going.
"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." (Meister Eckhart) Not because you should be saying thank you, but because gratitude opens up the possibility of life to you, no matter what you're going through.
There's this sacred Jewish practice: every morning before anything is done, or any words are said, or sheets and quilts are pushed back, and heads are raised off pillows, our Jewish brothers and sisters say a prayer:
"I am thankful before You, living and enduring King, for you have mercifully restored my soul within me. Great is Your faithfulness."
The concept behind this prayer called the Modeh Ani is that every night when you fall to sleep, your soul experiences a death of sorts and ascends to heaven to rest in the presence of God. In the morning, your soul is returned, the gift of life re-granted and renewed.
For all the deaths that you endure, I pray you awaken, that you open your eyes and are able to say,
yes, and thank you, and yes, and thank you, and yes.
If you're unsure what to do next, or if life feels hard, or if it's so dark you can't see what's ahead:
Gratitude lights the way.
Mindful Prompt: Re-write the Modeh Ani prayer for yourself in a way that helps you choose gratitude no matter what you're going through.
Written by Liz Milani
*1 Thess 5:18
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