GratitudeI have read so many e-mails and e-zines on the importance of gratitude during these weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I have spent quite a bit of time focusing on the topic. After such a concentrated effort, I have completely changed my view of it. I have been told that the act of being grateful for all the good we have in our lives:
I have read that we should be grateful for our friends, our home, our abundance, our bills, our mates, and our children. I have learned it is in my higher good to be thankful for the meals I eat, the toilets I flush, and all that nature has to offer. I have been told I should be grateful for the teeth I brush, the mail I get, and the hot water in my shower. It has been written that I should make a habit of gratitude and that I should invent rituals of gratitude so I can bask in the blessed space that gratitude provides and that I should keep a gratitude journal so I can keep track and be reminded of all the great people and things I have in my life. I'm not so sure anymore. All of the things I have been told I should be grateful for are of dualism. Dualism is what our universe is based on. There is hot/cold, north/south, tall/short, man/woman, rich/poor, healthy/sick, peace/war, fatty/fat-free, life/death, and ______/______ (you fill in the blank.) This is a world of opposites. But all of our spiritualities teach us that God is infinite. So if something that is all encompassing can have no opposite, anything of duality cannot be one with God. And just what can be outside of infinity? Nothing except an illusion of being outside of infinity, with some of the illusions being "good" illusions (family, friends, love, health, peace) and some of the illusions being "bad" illusions (enemies, hate, sickness, war.) Since it's a physical impossibility to be outside of infinity, doesn't it follow that if I show gratitude for the things that are of dualism that I am, in fact, supporting my belief that separation from God is not only possible but that it is my reality? I think that being grateful for the good things in life serves a purpose -- it gets us in the habit of seeing only the good in anything and focusing on, and then experiencing, only the "good" illusion. But if we hold onto this for too long, we can come to enjoy the "good" illusion so much, we find ourselves liking duality, becoming attached to it, and unwilling to move beyond it. Therefore, at some point, we need to transcend being grateful for the "good" illusions so we don’t become attached to them. After all, a "good" illusion is still just an illusion, no matter how good or loving it appears, and being attached to an illusion cannot lead to our ultimate good. Here's my suggestion: continue to show gratitude for the good people, things, and events in your life. Being grateful helps us to feel connected to, and deserving of, all that is good. But don't stop there. Also be grateful for the knowledge that you are indeed united with Infinite Love. In so doing you bestow gratitude with a mighty purpose -- the restoration of your holiness and perfection to your awareness. Happy Thanksgiving! ============================================ About This "Gratitude" Essay ============================================ © 2006 Wesley J. Doherty/An Easier Life, Inc, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the "Your Easier Life Newsletter" in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: "By Wesley J. Doherty of An Easier Life, Inc. Please visit Wesley's web site at http://www.AnEasierLife.com for additional articles, programs, and resources on how to have your easier life." (Please make sure the link is live if placed in an eZine or in a web site.) |