Grateful for everything

Gratitude

I give thanks to the giver behind each gift, and to the one Giver behind all that I receive. My gratitude rises with devotion’s incense to the throne of Omnipresence.

Dear Friend,

In the immortal words of Charlie Brown, “What if today we were just grateful for everything?” What a happy life that would entail.

Imagine a day where we thanked God for everything that came to us—everything! It would be easy if that everything were just what we wanted. But often that’s not what our karma prescribes. Interestingly, our capacity to be happy is determined not by what happens to us, but how we respond to what life presents us each day. The fastest way to lose our happiness is to wish people or things were different than they are. We can also gain it back by embracing with gratitude what is.

Swami Kriyananda said, “Gratitude opens us up to a positive flow of grace and gives us the ability to grow from every experience.” He goes on to say, “Gratitude is the secret to a happy life . . . it is one of the most important of all attitudes.” By embracing with gratitude all that life presents us, even what is outwardly uncomfortable or painful, we can create a fortress of inner happiness that nought can erode!

In one of Swami Kriyananda’s Thanksgiving letters he wrote: “This year at Thanksgiving, let us thank Divine Mother not for Her gifts, but for that love which gives us the strength to seek Her beyond life’s ups and downs, in eternity.”

In divine friendship,
Nayaswami Pushpa for Thank you, God!

Grateful for a Memory….

A personal reflection by Nayaswami Pushpa

When I was eight years old I remember quite clearly standing in the lane behind our flat offering my life to God. It was a profound experience for me. I told God that I would serve him in whatever way I could. I expected to hear back from him with instructions! I felt I had something important to do in my lifetime. Maybe all human beings have that feeling? I don’t know. But as I grew from childhood through my teenage years I became more frustrated because I never heard back from God and I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing. 

In my mid-twenties I began to get more curious about why I was here. By my early thirties I was really serious about the search for truth. I remembered that early experience and realized that maybe God was communicating with me, but I just didn’t know how to listen for His guidance. 1985 is when I first learned to meditate, and the course of my life changed forever.

I am so grateful for that early memory that lay dormant for many, many years, but always stayed with me. What special memory are you grateful for?

Nature Walk Activity

Experience a guided Gratitude Walk—perfect with friends and family for Thanksgiving. Download Nature Walk Activity Thank you, God!