.....the gratitude engine

Yogis,
Gratitude season has blown in with the November winds! The time of year where we are asked to take an honest look at our gratitude skills, dust off any cobwebs and rev up the engine.

I like to picture gratitude as an internal engine. It’s always there but can get a bit sluggish when it hasn’t been tuned up in a while. A little rusty with the challenges and grind of daily life. Nothing a little oil and a gentle foot to the pedal can’t fix though!  Soon enough it can be humming again.

What serves as the oil?

There are many gratitude practices. One I like to use is to select a time when I am alone and still and notice something right in front of me that I am grateful for. I typically choose to do this outside but there are unlimited things to be grateful for inside as well.

You can do this with something as simple as your favorite chair. An old worn sweater. Your car. A tree in your yard. An afternoon cup of tea.

After selecting and taking a cursory look, dive deeper. Why are you grateful for it? Get closer to see what it looks like. The intricacies. What does it feel like? How long has it been there?  How does it make you feel?

I chose waves as my focus this morning while standing witness yet again to the miraculous rise of the sun. I am grateful for waves of course but let me get closer and see why.

I am grateful for the way the sun’s rays cause waves to shimmer. The spray that fills the air when one crashes. The patterns and shells left behind in the sand. The smell of salt air sent my way. The sound heard not only by my ears but felt through the soles of my feet. Their incredible power.

Seagulls can always be found standing close and how the sandpipers chase the waves edge in mass with their short, yet quick little legs moving in unison. The shifting colors of the water. Her consistent mesmerizing rhythm. Geese fly overhead………

All of this in fifteen minutes.

My chest begins to expand. The heart has more room. An inner light turns on. I feel happy, as the energy of gratitude awakens joy.

As I run back through the neighborhood, I now notice everything. Birds chirping. A light breeze. A baby pine tree pushing up through a crack in the sidewalk. No longer simply grateful for things, but instead ‘being’ gratitude in action. Shining gratitude.

The effort is in greasing the engine on a regular basis. But once you do you soon find yourself coasting down the gratitude highway…….with the top down and hair blowing in the wind.

Grateful for all of you,
SARAH