In this week’s Torah portion Sh’lach, the people requested to check out the land of Israel before they enter. Twelve princes --people of stature--one from each tribe,
are chosen to go “spy” out the land of Israel, presumably to learn the character of the land and habits of its inhabitants or to help develop a military strategy.
They come back with a mixed report and conclude that it’s not possible to go into the promised land due to the inhabitants, who are giants and “stronger than them….. We are grasshoppers in their sight.” The people heard their report , panicked and said that it would have been better to die in the wilderness rather than try to enter the land that
G-d has promised them.
How is it that these same people who saw miracle after miracle and felt G-d’s constant protection and bounty were wailing to go back to Egypt, the land of their enslavement?
In times of prosperity there is a risk of ingratitude and forgetting all that we have.
Most of us are fortunate and have what we need–good health, family , employment.
We have a lot of good in our lives, but when things are not 100% right, we complain.
We are actually hard wired to remember the negative.
The negativity bias refers to our proclivity to “attend to, learn from, and use negative information far more than positive information”
Negative events often elicit stronger responses than non-negative events.
Which might explain why we often recall and think about insults more than compliments, dwell on unpleasant events more than pleasant ones, and focus our attention more quickly on negative rather than positive information
Gratitude is built into daily Jewish life.
The first thing we say when we wake up in the morning is Modeh Ani, thanking G-d for restoring our souls to us after a night’s sleep.
We are taught very early on in our lives, not to take things for granted and to demonstrate our appreciation and thankfulness and feelings of gratitude towards all kindness received and from whom we receive them. The first part of our morning prayers are blessings -called Birchot Hashachar– for things we may take for granted– getting out of bed, being able to see, the ability to walk, having our needs provided for, and so on.
How many of us wake up in the morning and really count our blessings? Many of us take these precious gifts and so many others for granted
Being grateful means we have less to complain about. It makes life happier, being conscious of all that we have
Gratitude is a positive state of mind and expressing it gives us a sense of contentment and well being
According to Rabbi Eliezer Weisz of Kfar HaRoeh, in our daily lives, we must see
“that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes
us happy.”
Also, showing gratitude to other people brings happiness to the recipient.
Gratitude and appreciation are important in building healthy relationships
How do we look at the “big picture” before we start complaining? The big picture is that there is an abundance of blessings we are enjoying despite the bumps in the road that we sometimes go over.
How can we learn to cultivate gratitude?
And how can mindfulness practice help us ?
Let’s start a mindfulness meditation on gratitude.
Settling in, in your chair, the floor or your bed. Inside or outside.
Where you are, is less important than the intention you bring to the practice.
Start with noticing something simple you are experiencing at this moment.
It could be the side of a tree swaying gently in the wind, or the warmth of sunlight on your skin, or maybe the experience of comfort from the chair you are sitting in, or the simple wonder of pausing in the midst of your busy life to engage with this practice right now.
Choose one thing to notice and allow it fully into your experience.
Let appreciation and gratitude arise and fill your body and mind (pause).
And now thinking of something else we may take for granted: the things that you use that support your work and your personal life. Your computer, your books, work space, car, equipment or tools, or anything else.
Choose one thing and consider all that was needed for it to be created.
Maybe you bought it at the store or received it from someone, but someone took the time to make it.
Appreciate and feel gratitude that you have access to these things. (pause)
And taking a moment to feel gratitude for people you work and live with.
Think of a particular person whose work or effort directly supports your work in life. Appreciate their contribution, their good intention, saying in your mind to them,
“Thank you.” (pause)
Now bring to mind someone you care about. Picture them in your mind.
Think about what this person means to you. What you appreciate about them, who they are, the support you have received, and the impact that they’ve had in your life.
As you imagine them, notice what feelings you are experiencing, what sensations are coming up in your body, especially those in the area of your heart. Maybe feeling that area around your heart expanding.
Let yourself express gratitude towards them. Thanking them for being who they are and for their presence in your life. Imagine them receiving your gratitude.(pause)
Now bring to mind something, in particular, you are grateful for today. Feel the appreciation and gratitude for its presence in your life.
As you bring these things to mind for what you’re grateful for, allow yourself to rest in the experience. (pause)
When you cultivate the practice of gratitude, you may even find yourself able to be grateful for difficult or unpleasant experiences.
If you’d like to bring to mind an experience in your life that is challenging, one for which you’d like to be able to express gratitude.
Offer your gratitude and appreciation. Thank this challenge for what it may offer you. Gratitude for our body, gratitude for our mind, gratitude for the simple fact of being alive at this moment (pause).
Finally, appreciate the opportunity to pause and experience this very practice of gratitude in itself. For all that you have brought to mind during this meditation, for all of the countless gifts in your life, say, “Thank you.”
Allow the sense of gratitude to fill you completely as you breathe in and breath out.
Settling on the breath right here, right now, fully alive and present in this very moment.
Finish with a full deep breath in and a long breath out.
Gently and slowly open your eyes and return your awareness to the place where you are.
If you’d like to continue practicing gratitude meditation, make an intention to think about something you feel grateful for every morning right when you wake up. You could write it down in a journal.
I am grateful for you for joining me in this practice.
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