Attitude of Gratitude

                                                        "Do we have a Gratitude Attitude" ?

I want to begin by saying, I am thankful for you! in all your flaws, forms, perfections and imperfections and everything in-between, thank you for being YOU!

My hope is that families who come together on Thanksgiving can find a mindful space to notice an Attitude of Gratitude and invite others to not only share some of their personal thanks on this day, but also to remember this Attitude of Gratitude every day.  

Simply pausing to notice thoughts and feelings of gratefulness is indeed opportunity for expanding our minds and hearts, however, if we notice when recalling a grateful experience or directly expressing a grateful attitude to another, our hearts and minds expand both inwardly and outwardly; its an empowering experience that connects the feeling and thought to an application of gratefulness!  For example, we can write in a gratitude journal about how we feel grateful for an experience we want to recall (in the near or distant future) or we can verbally give thanks when we are served a meal by a friend or family. We can also pause and notice the many sources that are involved in the farm-to-table experience - farmers planting and harvesting crops, transporters loading and delivering to local markets, stockers displaying items in the grocery store, parents drive to and shop for items in the market, cashiers and baggers who sell, scan, exchange items for money and nicely packaged items;  It's a process that involves a lot of people and experiences - all who are vastly interconnected.  

In addition, if we are grateful for the food we are preparing to eat, when we sit down in our chair at the dining table, we can be mindful of our body sitting for just a few moments - for example, how each part of our body is making contact with the chair and our feet with the ground. How are all our senses engaging with the eating experience - taking a moment to pay attention with our eyes, nose and ears the various foods on our plate-its rich colors and textures and the smells and possibly how it sounds - is it sizzling or crackling? Can we pay attention to how we reach for and pick up our utensils and then how we scoop our food and then bring it to our open mouth and actually feel the texture and taste in our mouth as it lands on the various parts of the mouth before we begin chewing with our teeth. What is the sensation of chewing feel like - is it crunchy, soft, hard?  What does it feel like to swallow the food and notice the process as it moves down into our stomach?  If we pay attention, just for a moment, we may begin to notice a heightened sensory eating experience; it is quiet amazing! 

Can we take a few moments each day to list at least 5 reasons to be grateful?
Here are my 5 Attitudes of Gratitude for today: 
1. All my relational connections 
2. Clean and Comfortable Shelter & Healthy, Free-Choice Food & Clean, Abundant Water 
3. The air I breathe in and out (Mindfully 😊)
4. My healthy body that moves and organizes in ways beyond comprehension 
5. My commitment to grow in mind-heart-body ( Mindfully 😊)