Sharing Gratitude in Adversity

Although it’s been two weeks since Hurricane Sandy blew ashore, there are still people without electricity, water and other life necessities. Others have lost their homes or summer homes; many more have lost the place where they spent happy weeks as children and adults, now that the boardwalks and beaches have washed away. I usually use November as a time to talk about gratitude, but in the wake of Sandy and her snowy cousin Athena, there are some who are not ready to be grateful.

So what do we do with this? How does one spend Thanksgiving Day when a home has been lost, feelings of resentment towards utility companies and governments abound, and kids are running around wearing other peoples’ cast off, though lovingly donated, clothing? How does one summon gratitude once the relief that your family made it out alive fades and you are faced with a dark, muddy mess?

I have no idea. I am sitting in front of my computer in my warm house, having taken a hot shower, and sipping fresh coffee – my imagination comes to a screeching halt when I go too far into thoughts of having lost everything. I can't even log onto my favorite websites without my cheat sheet of passwords; what would I do without anything I rely on daily?

Here’s my thought: Those of us who are warm and snug, well lit when the short day comes to an end, and thinking about Christmas trees and candles lit for beauty, not utility -- we need to step our gratefulness up a notch.

Gratitude is like prayer; it is a thought sent into the universe and spread over the Earth. Thank You doesn’t only land on the one who roasted the turkey; when the chef is thanked she is uplifted and in turn uplifts those around her. Thank You expands and grows and spreads like an aura and when we let the gratitude migrate from our brains to our hearts, it burgeons into a force that carries out into the world. We need to pinch-hit for those who are unable to internalize gratitude this season. And hope they never need to return that favor!

Please share!