November 2009

20th century English writer G. K. Chesterton wrote, “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, and swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in ink.” Give thanks before you begin the activities of your day.

You might say, “Thanks, computer, for coming on when I push the button, for connecting me to so many people and ideas, and for your mysterious workings beyond my comprehension.”

As you open your door, give thanks for your home.

When you are with someone, get in touch with your gratitude and tell them, “I’m glad for this beautiful day, this walk, and your companionship.” “I’m grateful for the way you smile and ask how I am.”

Write letters of appreciation.

Next time you hear yourself whining or complaining – stop! What’s something you appreciate?

Let go of comparisons and wanting what someone else has. What are your blessings? Count them. List them.

When you sit in the dental chair or in a waiting room or in traffic, let people, places, and experiences come to mind, from your childhood to now, for which you are grateful.

Who are the people you haven’t known personally but for whom you are grateful?

Have we told you how grateful we are to serve as your co-ministers? We are.

Thank you!

More Spiritual Practices on Gratitude

Sit quietly and pay attention to your breathing. Breathe in life….Breathe out thanks.

Practice rejoicing in the good fortune of others.

Before you go to sleep, name five things particular to each day for which you are grateful.

In gratitude for your many blessings, bring gifts of food or money (your weight in food or money or what you can give) on Sunday, November 22, as together we stock the Richmond Emergency Food Pantry.

Journal and Discussion Questions on Gratitude

What are the small moments that are significant?

Have you had challenging and painful times which you have come to experience as blessings?

If all this talk about gratitude makes you angry, write about that. Get that out of your system.

If today was your last day to offer appreciation, who would you thank and why?

In spite of, or because of, everything, for what do you give thanks?

Books on Gratitude

Children:

A Child’s Book of Blessings and Prayers These blessings and prayers were collected by Unitarian Universalist minister and religious educator Eliza Blanchard and published by the UUA’s Skinner House press.

Adults:

Rejoice Together by Helen R. Pickett This UUA Skinner House Book offers prayers, meditations and other readings for Family, Individual, and Small-Group Worship.

A Grateful Heart, edited by M. J. Ryan A collection of 365 daily blessings for the evening meal from sources from the Buddha to the Beatles.

Gratefulness, the heart of prayer by David Steindl-Rast who writes, “Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise—then you will discover the fullness of your life.”

Films on Gratitude

Pieces of April (2003) directed by Peter Hedges and starring Katie Holmes as April Burns living with her African-American boyfriend Bobby. In an attempt to make peace with her family, April and her boyfriend invite her family to Thanksgiving at their apartment in New York City. April struggles to cook a turkey and prepare the dinner before her family arrive.

Babette's Feast (1988) is a Danish film based on a story by Isak Dinesen. Babette lovingly prepares a delicious dinner as an expression of gratitude. Spirits are fed.

Our Daily Bread (2006), by Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhaltd, is a documentary showing the industrial production of food as a reflection of our society’s values. The film includes images that are difficult to face but show what it takes to bring us our daily meals.