Gratitude is the buzzword this time of year. Even though it may sound trite, being grateful and having gratitude can change you in a good way.
As you celebrate the day of thanksgiving, how can you be grateful even with love and family squabbles? As your sister in law gives you that certain look. When the turkey gets overcooked. Or when half the table leaves to watch the football while the meal isn’t even finished.
Here’s a wonderful poem that I heard last Sunday to help you be grateful. It’s written by Reverend Margie Allen, who is the minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Stony Brook, New York.
The Calculus of Gratitude
Gratitude can change you in a good way!
Gratitude is not simple math.
Not one plus one.
Not carry one. Not adding a column of figures to each other.
Gratitude is certainly not subtraction. Not minus.
And not division, unless we are talking about fairness.
Which we are, just not right at this moment.
Multiplication? Well, yes.
But exponential. It is what we have and see,
but raised to the power of something.
If gratitude were a number, it would be a
Big One.
Gratitude is not simple. It shrinks and expands.
It does not come down to 2x = 4, so x = 2.
Sometimes gratitude surprises you and x = overcome.
Sometimes x = grief or joy. Incalculable.
There’s no easy formula for resolving that equation.
Gratitude is more like a line than an angle
More like a circle than a line or a square,
A sphere with everything inside it, rolling.
But more like a flow than a round thing rolling.
Moving through us
Changing us.
Gratitude is the calculus of change.
One becomes all of us and all of us One.
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Go enjoy your thanksgiving, and see what happens as you allow gratitude to fill more space in your life.
Thank you for having blessed my life in the various ways our paths cross.
Love
Alyse
I would love to hear from you, so if there’s any particular thing that gets in the way of you being grateful, let’s chat. You can schedule a complimentary 20 minute conversation here.
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Happy Thanksgiving to you and your Family ! You are truly one the most Positive and Grateful women I know. In a world where it seems that more and more we experience people who focus more on themselves and are less understanding of others, this Poem is a great reminder to be more gentle and understanding of one another! Besides being Grateful for so many things in my life (good and not so good) I am grateful for Good Friends like You. Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving!!😘🦃🙏🏻
Thanks so much Denise for your kind words. I hope that you had a beautiful Thanksgiving day matching your beautiful spirit.
I am forever grateful for our friendship and the many memories I have with you, John, and your family. You taught me much about acceptance, sharing and caring. Happy Thanksgiving to you and John!