“Why is it so difficult to acknowledge a gift as a gift? Here is the reason.
When I admit that something is a gift, I admit my dependence on the giver.
This may not sound that difficult, but there is something within us that bristles at the idea of dependence.
We want to get along by ourselves.
Yet a gift is something we simply cannot give to ourselves.
I can buy the same thing or even something better, but it will not be a gift if I procure it for myself.
I can go out and treat myself to a magnificent treat. I can even be grateful later for the good time I had.
But can I be grateful to myself for having treated myself so well? That would be neck-breaking mental acrobatics.
Gratefulness always goes beyond myself.
What makes something a gift is precisely that it is given, and the receiver depends on the giver.
Gift giving is a celebration of the bond that unites giver and receiver.
That bond is gratefulness.” —David Steindl-Rast
As you spend time today exploring the soul work of gratitude, consider the many gifts you’ve been given from a wide variety of people, places, and sources:
- The coffee roaster who gifts you coffee each morning
- The truck driver who transports your gift of food
- The trees that gift you oxygen
- The friendly stranger who gifts you a warm smile
- Your city, neighbourhood, and street that gift you a sense of communal belonging
Our culture may try to preach a message of independence and individuality, but every day we depend on a wide variety of gifts we cannot give to ourselves.
- Pause, and consider the gift of needing others
- Pause, and notice your life’s beautiful acts of dependence
- Pause, and acknowledge the gift you are to others in return
“Gift giving is a celebration of the bond that unites giver and receiver. That bond is gratefulness.” —David Steindl-Rast
—With Joy
Source: Steindl-Rast, David, Gratefulness, Heart of Prayer, Paulist Press, 1984, pp. 15-16.
Pause for Thought
“I join my voice with so many others to bring you thanks. Life under your canopy can be rich with music and laughter, food and friends, sunsets and seascapes, fulfilling worship with people we love. Every song of a lark, every scent of a flower, every touch of a child suggests your goodness. Every word of forgiveness or assurance expresses your grace. Thank you.”
Pause for Practice
The following meditation is a gratitude practice for the various ways life has extended gifts and offerings to you. The provided prompts are simply meant to help get you started, but feel free to take liberty in coming up with thoughts of your own that pertain to your life and your specific extensions of gratitude. Take as much time as you need.
I offer gratitude for the gift of my life.
I offer gratitude for the gift of my health.
I offer gratitude for the gifts of my family and friends.
I offer gratitude for the gift of my community.
I offer gratitude for the gift of teaching and lessons learned.
I offer gratitude for the gift of warmth and joy gratitude brings.
I offer gratitude for the gift of this moment.
I offer gratitude for the gift of my breath.
I offer gratitude for the gift of ___________________.
Source: Sacred Pause series by JoyOver, A Moment of Gratitude, session 7.
Pause for Prayer
“O Lord and Maker of all things, from whose creative power the first light came forth, who didst look upon the world’s first morning and see that it was good, I praise Thee for this light that now streams through my windows to rouse me to the life of another day.
I praise Thee for the life that stirs within me.
I praise Thee for the bright and beautiful world into which I go.
I praise Thee for earth and sea and sky, for scudding cloud and singing bird.
I praise Thee for the work Thou hast given me to do.
I praise Thee for all that Thou hast given me to fill my leisure hours.
I praise Thee for my friends.
I praise Thee for music and books and good company and all pure pleasures.
O Light that never fades, as the light of day now streams through these windows and floods this room, so let me open to Thee the windows of my heart, that all my life may be filled by the radiance of Thy presence.
Let no corner of my being be unillumined by the light of Thy countenance. Let there be nothing within me to darken the brightness of the day. Let the Spirit of Him whose life was the light of men rule within my heart till eventide.”
Amen.
Source: A Diary of Private Prayers, by John Baillie, Seventh Day, Morning, p. 3.
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P.S. What some deem messy, others deem an opportunity for joy. Every moment offers a gift; it’s all in how we choose to see it.
