Are You Grateful or Do You Just Get Wet?

 

My bathroom. Planting seeds, one visit at a time….

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. Roger Miller

What does walking in the rain or getting wet have to do with gratitude? What is the connection? And why should you care? And why would I even write about gratefulness the day after Thanksgiving? And, will she connect all these dots in one blog entry?

First, because 80 % of the information we learn comes through our eyes, we may miss a lot of pleasure and beauty in life if we limit our life experience to that one narrow observation. To come to the understanding that life is a gift, one needs to open their heart to see beyond only the vision of the eyes. Opening your heart allows you to perceive the gifts of your community, your world and your universe, thus, allowing you to recognize that today is the only day you have. Period. (This is not meant to be a lesson on life and death but encouragement to view living differently…) The hope is to gain the respect for and response to, the day that you have and to be grateful for whatever it holds. When one views their world through grateful eyes, (those born of and which live in the heart) they can see what actually exists and they can interpret it through the uniqueness that each day holds. (i.e.: some people perceive weather as to how it affects their personal world, their activities, their mood, their behavior rather than viewing the wonder of and uniqueness of each day and cultivating an appreciation for the connectedness of the wholeness of the world and how the weather connects us all)

My mother in law had an expression that when someone would continue to lie in bed after waking that they were “soaking.” I always loved her metaphor of drinking in the beauty and comfort of that common but joyful life experience. Anyone can learn to soak up their world by opening up their heart and viewing their world with the eyes of their heart. Life is a gift to cultivate, appreciate and experience.

I hope you plant the seeds of gratitude in your world not only for the pleasure and beauty it brings into your life but for those who will be influenced by your gratitude to choose not merely to get wet but to really walk in the rain.

Like Zac said, “Live What Is…” 5-21-07. It’s a difficult but rewarding lesson…. Chris


I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope your gratitude extends beyond that one special holiday…