Recently I was having a difficult day.
I wasn’t feeling well and was encountering a number of frustrations.
As I was returning home after running around here and there, John
Rutter’s setting of “For the Beauty of the Earth” come up on the CD
playing in the car. If you aren’t familiar with this piece, you can
find many recordings of it on YouTube - and it’s well worth knowing.
The lyrics and music of the hymn returned me to a place of joy and
gratitude that I’d let the day’s aggravations pull me away from.
And
as I have found to be true time and again, when I turned my focus to
all that is good in my life and to telling God how grateful I truly am
for all those things, the difficulties of the day mattered much less.
And that started me reflecting on how important a sense of gratitude
and the joy that comes from it has been in my life.
Back in my twenties I
often ended my day knowing things had happened during the day that I
wanted to thank God for, but I had no memory of just what those things
were.
Now then,
I am a cradle Episcopalian and I am at least the 5th generation of
women on my mother’s side to be such. With that background, I learned
early on that thanksgiving should be a part of one’s prayer life. I
kept forgetting stuff though and it seemed rather too casual to say,
“I can’t remember the good stuff, God, but I know some happened. You
know what it is and thank you!”
Around this time
one of the priests at the church I attended then mentioned the
prayers the traditional Jews say throughout their day, thanking God for
the ordinary things in our lives. That made a lot of sense to me and I
resolved to begin a new practice of saying thank you at the
time something good happened. Not just big good things like avoiding a
major car accident but also the small stuff, those little daily
hassles you expect to be a royal pain but that somehow magically work
out. At these times I would stop for just 2 or 3 seconds and say a
heartfelt “thank you” to God. Sometimes I’d remember to do it right
away, sometimes it took a while to sink in that something had really
gone right. Whichever way, I’d take a few seconds as soon as that
realization hit me.
I was surprised by the overall effect this new practice had on me. Because I was saying thank you after many little things throughout the day, I became much, much more aware of all the blessings, large and small both, of life. And I found that expressing my gratitude to God throughout the day changed my mood and my ability to handle frustrations. I was in a better frame of mind overall for being reminded of all the good in my life. The daily annoyances didn’t matter nearly as much with that balance in my mind. Other people - coworkers, family, friends - began to comment on how well I took things in stride.
Fast forward 30 years . . . I am now 55 years old and am under treatment for 4 chronic illnesses. Pain and fatigue are perfectly ordinary to me along with a limited diet due to my most recent diagnosis. If I were to wake up tomorrow feeling well, I’d be in such shock I’d accomplish nothing all day! (But I’d still like to try it.) And yet I have people continually commenting that I’m always smiling and seem to take it all so well. Even my doctors comment on my attitude. My standard response to these comments is that aside from a few health problems, I really do have a good life. And it’s true - I do have a good life. Only recently, on that rough day when I heard “For the Beauty of the Earth," did I realize the connection between my long-standing practice of saying thanks throughout the day and my approach to life with chronic illness.
I do have a lot in my life that warrants complaining and whining. To be honest, there are times when I indulge in these things though generally just to a few friends and family members who don’t tell on me. But my life has so many more things that are good, things to be grateful for, things to celebrate. Saying thank you every day, throughout the day, reminds me of this constantly. Give it a try.
I was surprised by the overall effect this new practice had on me. Because I was saying thank you after many little things throughout the day, I became much, much more aware of all the blessings, large and small both, of life. And I found that expressing my gratitude to God throughout the day changed my mood and my ability to handle frustrations. I was in a better frame of mind overall for being reminded of all the good in my life. The daily annoyances didn’t matter nearly as much with that balance in my mind. Other people - coworkers, family, friends - began to comment on how well I took things in stride.
Fast forward 30 years . . . I am now 55 years old and am under treatment for 4 chronic illnesses. Pain and fatigue are perfectly ordinary to me along with a limited diet due to my most recent diagnosis. If I were to wake up tomorrow feeling well, I’d be in such shock I’d accomplish nothing all day! (But I’d still like to try it.) And yet I have people continually commenting that I’m always smiling and seem to take it all so well. Even my doctors comment on my attitude. My standard response to these comments is that aside from a few health problems, I really do have a good life. And it’s true - I do have a good life. Only recently, on that rough day when I heard “For the Beauty of the Earth," did I realize the connection between my long-standing practice of saying thanks throughout the day and my approach to life with chronic illness.
I do have a lot in my life that warrants complaining and whining. To be honest, there are times when I indulge in these things though generally just to a few friends and family members who don’t tell on me. But my life has so many more things that are good, things to be grateful for, things to celebrate. Saying thank you every day, throughout the day, reminds me of this constantly. Give it a try.
Nann Bell is a
homemaker, cat mother, fabric artisan and area volunteer. A Florida
native, she is now grateful for Michigan's seasons, for the community of
Manistee and the ongoing support of her husband, the Rev. Mike Bell,
rector of Holy Trinity. You may email her by clicking here.
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