Theme: Gratitude
“If the only prayer you say your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” - Meister Eckhart, Medieval Mystic
“Gratitude keeps the heart muscle from withering.” - Rev. Eliza Blanchard, UU Minister
When we hear the words “thank you” or “gratitude” most of us have an immediate idea of what those words mean. They are familiar words, so familiar that we likely don’t even pause to think about our understanding of them.
An essential part of spiritual growth is the ever deepening understanding of what we think we already know. This is why in many religious traditions the same readings and stories are read and retold year after year. The point is not to memorize the text or learn the story by heart, but to engage it, to be curious about it, to notice things you’ve never noticed before and deepen your understanding and personal connection to it.
Exercise:
Spend some time with the quotes from Meister Eckhart and Eliza Blanchard above.
Share or write down your understanding of the quote(s).
Try reading one or both each day for a week. Reflect and write down your understanding each day.
At the end of the week look at what you’ve written following each period of reflection. Did your understanding or connection to the words change in any way? How so?
What was it like to read and reflect on the same words each day?
I was struck by the simplicity of both quotes on the surface but the depth of Rev. Blanchard causes one to think deeply. Each of us has so much yet we take so much for granted. For a few years now, we have said grace every night at dinner which includes giving thanks for the events of the day. Many are the same as we realize how much we have to be grateful for. Others are one of a kind for the incredible sunset we saw, a kind deed we witnessed, badly needed rain, being with people pulling together for the common good. We do have to stop and smell the flower or we miss the gifts that are all around us.
ReplyDeleteI like the simplicity of Meister eckharts prayer but believe it is also one dimensional as he seems to imply one thank you is enough. I love the way Eliza Blanchard ties her prayer into the very depth of ourselves. If we can't manage to feel gratitude, how can we love, care or nurture others. Indeed, we will wither as we cease to live.
The comment above is beautifully expressed. Thank you. To me Meister Eckhart seems to be saying that of all the ways we might respond to life, responding with gratitude is most crucial to our spiritual wellbeing. And Blanchard's words tell us why this is so. Her words remind me that gratitude is spiritual exercise for the heart.
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