Gratitude

 Gratitude

“Live your life so that the fear of death can never enter your heart. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light. Give thanks for your life and the strength it brings. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living. And if perchance you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured the fault is in yourself.”—Ascribed to Chief Tecumseh.

Gratitude is one of the secrets to a Spirit-filled life. Those in 12-step recovery groups believe we are less likely to return to our old addiction—what they call “a slip”—if we continue to be grateful each day. Therefore, whenever someone in recovery is not doing well, the most suggested remedy is to make a gratitude list to refer to daily, especially at night.

The insight from Trees for Life founder Balbir Mathur is that he “travels in a boat called Surrender. His two oars are Forgiveness and Gratitude,” which also serve as a guide for our lives. We live a life of peace as long as we can surrender to a power greater than ourselves, and are willing to forgive and remain grateful for what we have.

As a result, our blood pressure stays closer to normal. We are less likely to become irritated at all of life’s hiccups: our computer is not responding, our phone is dying, but the Apple store is closed, someone has said something unkind, we have expectations of ourselves and others that are not being met, our body is not working the way it should, we are not getting our way or achieving our plan for the day, we miss our family and friends, we are losing our job, we are afraid of this virus.

Sonja Lyubormirisky, in her book The How of Happiness, writes, “No matter where you are, or who you are, or what faith you have, or your circumstances .... the number one indicator of happiness in your life is very closely tied to your level of gratitude!”1

Guided by forgiveness and gratitude, we can live assured that there is a grand plan beyond our own. Our job is to be grateful for this one more day to make a difference and offer love to the lives around us.

My husband and I once made fun of an older man, a friend of his father’s, who often said, “You must have an attitude of gratitude.” We both know now that there is no greater wisdom for living than this simple formula.

We especially give thanks today and daily for the privilege of living with each other for these 56 years, as we stood in front of the Church by the River where we were married.

1 Thank you, Don Follis, for sending this quote to me.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Marrying contemplation to action

Marrying Orthodoxy to Orthopraxis

Women’s March

“There’s a movement in the church to marry action and contemplation, to connect orthodoxy and orthopraxis. We’re not throwing out what we believe, but also focusing on practices that bring those beliefs to life. In the past few decades, Christianity has primarily been about what we believe. But in Jesus, we see an invitation to join our actions with a movement, rather than ideas and doctrine. People have grown tired of a Christianity that can say what it believes on paper but doesn’t have anything to show with our lives.”—Adapted from Shane Claiborne in When Action Meets Contemplation (Center for Action and Contemplation, 2010), disc 1.

Orthopraxis, or practicing our faith, differs from Orthodoxy, which is adherence to a particular belief. It is a paradox. We need both. We need to frame and reframe what we believe, but if we do not put that belief into practice, we are like a “noisy gong.” I am one of those people Shane Claiborne talks about who has numerous t-shirts spelling out social justice issues—but until I write letters, or make phone calls, or visit those in prisons, or those who are sick or in trouble, or those who are trying to immigrate to our country because they are in danger, I am not putting that belief into practice. I have learned this most pointedly from younger people.

The women in my family marched in the women’s march the day after a previous presidential inauguration, concerned about the human rights of others. We were talking with our feet. The crowds and speakers at this protest inspired us to do more.

That day has become like an icon for me, as I reach out from the words of my comfortable t-shirt to become more active, visit, make calls, and protect those in need. I know in my heart that this is the way the Spirit works. We are called to study God and the Spirit, but we are also compelled to find the God within ourselves, which leads us to discover and connect with the God in others.

I share with spiritual friends that when I attempt to find God in others, God is most apparent in those in need. God most readily shines in those who are sick, dying, or seeking recovery, or at our food pantry, or our dinners for homeless veterans, or those today peacefully protesting for racial and social injustice, or assisting those in our country who have fled oppressed countries like Afghanistan. Practicing the ministry of orthopraxy teaches us the most about orthodoxy and God.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Centering Prayer

Centering prayer again

Guidelines

Thomas Keating

“1. Choose a sacred word to symbolize your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.

2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently, and introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.

3. Return ever-gently to the sacred word when engaged with your thoughts, feelings, images, and reflections.

4. At the end of the prayer period (20 minutes), remain silent with eyes closed for a few minutes.”—Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., www.contemplativeoutreach.org.

 Reviewing the guidelines for Centering Prayer is worthwhile, even if we have been practicing this spiritual discipline for some time. Catholic monks Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, Basil Pennington, and Quaker Richard Foster have described this contemporary form of the ancient contemplative prayer practice, also known as listening prayer. This ancient prayer practice is rooted in the traditions of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, as well as The Cloud of Unknowing, Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross.

A friend from New York, Steve Standiford, associated with Contemplative Outreach, has practiced centering prayer for over twenty years. He reminded us at a retreat at our church of an old story about how to deepen our relationship with God and experience God’s presence and love in our lives through centering prayer. “A first-time tourist to New York City gets into the cab and asks the driver, ‘How do you get to Carnegie Hall?’ The driver responds, ‘Practice, practice, practice!’”  

As with most of our attempts to learn about a spiritual tool, we gain knowledge of the practice by repeatedly practicing it.   

Joanna          https://www.joannaseibert.com/