Can I be grateful without realizing it? Without expressing it?
Last time I talked about maintaining an attitude of abundance (How To Relate In Abundance). Since I usually associate abundance with gratitude, I started wondering if I’m truly grateful. I haven’t said I’m grateful much lately, which got me wondering whether gratitude has to be conscious and expressed to be authentic. If I don’t acknowledge something, does that mean I’m taking it for granted?
I don’t know the answer—I’m hoping you will leave a comment and share your thoughts. But I decided to take my bike ride this morning with an intentionally grateful attitude, trying to be consciously aware of the everyday things I encounter and maybe don’t always appreciate.
I’m grateful for:
- Cool early mornings.
- A dad who walked his son to the bus stop for the first day of school.
- A family picking up trash along the bike path.
- An absolutely still pond.
- The flock (Gaggle? Herd?) of geese who blocked the trail on their way for an early morning swim. It’s pretty incredible to sit five feet from such creatures while they ignore your presence.
- The free entertainment provided by the guy who was in a hurry and thought he could scare the geese off the path by yelling and charging at them. Two big Canadian geese with wings spread full-out, hissing and charging back, is a pretty intimidating sight. Didn’t know a guy straddling a bike could back up that fast.
- Dogs.
- Clean, clear water. (I KNOW I take that for granted.)
- The secluded spot where Spring Creek tumbles over the rocks.
- The cardiac recovery group from the hospital. They laughed and chatted, savoring new friendships forged by shared adversity and hope.
- The boy who pointed and asked his dad why I was riding “that kind of” bike.
- His dad, who smiled while I answered the follow-up questions. Why do you pedal with your arms? Why don’t your legs work? Why does your neck make your legs paralyzed? Why are you wearing those gloves? Why can’t they fix your legs? (I think he was glad someone else faced the incessant barrage of “why?”)
- The chocolate lab splashing in the creek.
- Monte’s greeting when I returned home.
I guess you get the idea—no problem finding events for which I’m grateful. I still don’t know the answer to my question—maybe it really doesn’t matter.
It wasn’t the best, most focused workout. Too many interruptions.
I’m grateful.
I need to slow down and acknowledge my gratitude. You?
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