As A Practice

As a practice: 

thinking of gratitude as a practice, invoking it as a matter of course through journaling, or simply being mindful of all that's been given and making note that we're thankful to receive. There are countless ways to practice and it's a worthwhile endeavor, our appreciation for life grows through these reminders, that we're so often forgetful of all the things that give us joy and pleasure. Many studies of have shown that being grateful makes us happier, not because we've gained anything, but only for the sake of what we already have right now, and most of it obtained freely as a gift for being alive. 

we use gratitude as a practice to remember what's inherent,

that life is always present...

always giving. 

the word gratitude comes from the Latin word gratia, which means grace and that's a gift beyond our practice, it can only be invoked through our surrender and patiently waited on, watched for, yet never anxiously so, as that seems to keeps it's presence at bay, blocked by our pleas and demands for it to show. By its very nature grace can only be acknowledged, being a mystery bestowed without favor, arriving completely on it's own and leaving us forever changed and grateful in its wake. 

gratitude as a practice is really a prayer for grace, not to be received, but to be mindful of its presence, to recognize the course it's played throughout our lives, continuously, yet mostly unseen. At a certain point it's no longer a practice, we're aware of grace as presence, grateful, spontaneously so, overcome by the gift of air received as breath, heartbeat playing easy in its rhythm, and our bodies root-deep in belonging to the very fabric of the earth and sky. 

our practice is being alive, surrendering to grace...

and with this we see it was never truly a practice at all. 

just life,

awakening to the gift of its own existence.

~

Peace, Eric