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Today's
Meditation:
Sometimes I simply get too distracted to be
appreciative. I may be very busy when someone does
something that's helpful, and I may hardly notice it
because my mind's on so many other things. I may
have a lot of worries about money or relationships or
work, and they may keep me from feeling appreciation for
many of the things I have, such as a place to live and
heat in the winter and food on the table. And I may
be too deep in thought or conversation to fully appreciate
the song of the bird in the woods when I'm out for a walk.
Technically, we obviously don't have to renew our
appreciation. But when we do, we're the ones who
benefit, for then we constantly remind ourselves of the
richness of life, of the gifts that are ours day after
day. The kind word or advice of a friend, the
helpfulness of someone we know, the many gifts that we
enjoy each day on this planet-- they all mean more to us
when we receive them in a spirit of appreciation, of
gratefulness.
So how do we renew something like appreciation? I
suppose it's mostly a question of reminding ourselves just
how special something is, and just how fortunate we are to
be blessed by that specialness. We can renew it by
paying attention to the things that we appreciate, and
noticing the little details that we miss so often when we
merely give a passing glance or don't listen
closely. We can renew our appreciation by
remembering how many others on this planet aren't blessed
with the things that we have, and keeping in mind the fact
that most of our blessings don't come as a result of any
effort on our part.
If there's one thing that I don't want to lose, it's
appreciation for those things that are good in my
life. There are a lot of other things that
aren't so good, and the good things are the things that
keep me going, that keep my hope up, that make me feel
that the future can be brighter. And if they can
bring that hope to me, then I ought to appreciate them.
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