First, Gratitude

In this walking meditation, Greg invites you to consider three things for which you are grateful today and, specifically, why. Understanding the circumstances that allowed for the object of our gratitude to materialize is the key to creating the kind of world we want. Gratitude is the foundation of a life of flourishing.

Transcript

On a scale of one to seven, How would you rank the degree of flourishing in your life these days? I imagine the answer to this question varies from week to week or day to day even, Certainly from season to season over the course of our lives. Some find it easy to flourish and some find it more difficult. Regardless though, There is evidence that we can bring flourishing into our own lives even though we might feel like we've stalled, Maybe we've hit a dead end or a brick wall even. Maybe things are looking grim. There are practices that can allow our lives to flourish. I've been reading Martin Seligman's work on flourishing and he points to several interventions that can, According to the evidence, Bring flourishing into our lives. One of those is the focus of today's practice. So whether you're rush, Rush, Go, Go, Go, Or whether you're more chilled out, Would you come for this practice because each of us can have more flourishing in our lives? My name is Greg Powell and I'm a minister in the United Church of Canada. I'm going to get my jacket and my shoes on and I invite you to come for a walk with me. You might want to pause this for a few moments while you get your stuff together. I'll do the same and then I'll meet you outside. All right, Well I'm outside and I'm about to go for a walk on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen speaking peoples, The Esquimalt and the Songhees. I live just outside of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. It's beautiful here and the rain has stopped for who knows how long. And it's nice to be out. I can smell the smoke of people's fires burning, Keeping their homes warm. I can hear the highway in the distance. Why don't you take a moment to allow your senses to pick up what is being communicated to them? Why don't you take a moment to consider those whose feet have fallen on this land before yours? I wonder if you've heard or said, I just want you to be happy. Happiness became the pinnacle objective in life in North America. I just want you to be happy. And it's a beautiful sentiment and I believe the intention behind it is quite wonderful. But isn't life so much more than just happiness? What about love and heartache? What about music? What about that sense of accomplishing something you've been working so hard on for the past little while? There is more than just happiness. Well the research of positive psychology has put forward, And this is Martin Seligman's work, He's put forward five aspects. So positive emotion is one of them, That's happiness, That's part of the life of flourishing. It's the fifth dimension. And just for the sake of achievement, Not because it brings happiness or anything else, But just because we've mastered something. This is the theory. And there is a particular practice that has shown the greatest promise in bringing about flourishing. It touches upon a few of the different dimensions of the flourishing life. Likely, Mostly positive emotion, Happiness, But also relationships or engagement, Maybe meaning. Achievement, Probably not so much. And this practice is known as three things and why. So I'll guide us through this today. I want you to think of something in your life for which you are grateful. Maybe you're someone for whom everything seems to fall into place and feeling grateful is easy and natural and you just do it all the time. Or maybe it seems like the deck is stacked against you in some way. Maybe it feels like dead end after dead end for you. And gratitude takes a lot of practice. Regardless, I want you to think of something, At least one thing for which you are grateful. And in this case, Precision helps. Specificity helps. You know, It's tempting to say I'm grateful for food. That's fine. But I invite you to go a little bit more precise than that. Maybe like, I'm grateful for the rosemary in my spice drawer because it makes my yam wedges taste delicious. Maybe you've thought of something entirely differently than food. Think of something fairly precise, Specific, For which you are grateful. And I want you to think of some condition that had to be in place for that thing for which you are grateful. So in the case of my rosemary example, I'm grateful for the rosemary that makes my yam fries taste delicious. And I appreciate the work of the farmer who grew that rosemary. That farmer had to be committed to their work. That farmer had to be healthy enough. So that that rosemary could eventually come to my kitchen. So the thing that you've thought of, For which you are grateful, What is one reason why that was able to happen? Alright on to the second thing. What's another thing for which you are grateful today? Something else that allows you to feel good about your life. If you were to give thanks maybe to God or to whomever you give thanks, What would you name as your second thing? And then similarly, What's one circumstance that had to fall in place for you to have that experience with that thing? Why were you able to have that situation for which you are grateful? And now a third thing. What is a third thing for which you are grateful? What's a third cause of gratitude for you? And then now you're developing some expertise in this. How is it that that could come about? What had to happen? What circumstances had to be in place? What were the conditions that allowed for that thing for which you are grateful to be in your life? This is the three things and why. So quickly scan over those three things. What's the first thing that came to mind and why? The second thing that came to mind and why? And the third thing that came to mind and why? This practice has helped me to be aware of the nearly miraculous nature of the world such that I could enjoy the things that I enjoy. When it seems like there is challenge and difficulty, When I'm frustrated or stressed or afraid, If I can remember how amazing it is that I could enjoy the life that I enjoy, Even when I'm not really enjoying it, Then I can bring back some degree of flourishing. And if we do this practice every single day, Then we can actually permanently change our view of the world. People have permanently changed their perspective of the world with the simple practice of three things and why. You might keep a journal. Or if journaling isn't your thing, Maybe you'll want to take a camera and go photograph the things for which you are grateful. Keep a photographic gratitude journal. You might post on social media the three things and maybe the why. But you can alter your brain to receive the world with gratitude first so that there can be flourishing in your own life. In my religious tradition of Christianity, I think about what Jesus allegedly said. He said, I came not just so that there could be life, But there could be an abundance of life. Maybe that means abundance in an individual's life, Or at least a sense of abundance. Maybe it just acknowledges that there is more than mere happiness, Although happiness is important too. Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha, Apparently had a similar experience. He had been kept inside the palace his whole life and thought, Is there more to this life? And when he left, He glimpsed poverty and embraced poverty actually to see if that would bring more to his life. And it did sort of for a time. But then he asked, Is there more? This experience, I believe, Is universal. Is there more? Is there more than happiness, Which can be fleeting? There is. There is a flourishing that can come about. And we can make it happen. We don't always control it, Just like our own happiness. We don't always control it. But we can make it happen. So I thank you for engaging in this practice, The three things and why. I'm going to continue walking. Maybe you'll do the same. And so I hope you'll join me next time. And if you've found this meaningful in some way and want to share it with somebody else, Please do. If you have feedback for me, I'd love to hear it. Until next time, I'm Greg Powell. Peace.