Harnessing the Power of Gratitude

On a Sunday afternoon not too long ago, I hiked with my husband Bill and our dog Pepper out through the tall grass and over the hills to the aptly named HighPrairieCemetery.  About six miles southeast of our thriving metropolis of Matfield Green, Kansas (population 62) and at least a mile from the nearest gravel road, the cemetery is a touching relic of the days when pioneers from Ohio, Indiana and points east struggled to make a living homesteading amidst the barren beauty of the Kansas Flint Hills.  They built houses, plowed and planted where the soil would allow, built a schoolhouse and mustered communal resources to erect a church and establish a cemetery.  Between 1891 and 1903, at least ten people were buried at High Prairie – poignantly, all of them were women and children.  Their markers are scattered among a grid of 100 or more empty plots.  It is a lonely but beautiful resting spot for ten souls who did not live to try again in a more hospitable place. Perhaps the most striking thing about HighPrairieCemetery is the community custom of accounting for each and every day of a loved one’s life.  Sarah Beidler’s gravestone recalls a brief stay of 18 years, 1 month and 2 days.  Her brother Robert survived just 8 months and 27 days.  Clydie B. Riggs’ stone reads 1 year, 8 months, 14 days.  Otto Hines' family bid him goodbye after only 1 month and 10 days. There are stones for Mattie Mustard, 49 years, 1 month, 2 days, and for Mattie’s son Alva, 14 years, 10 months, 17 days. It seems that in spite of the heartbreak that it must have been to lose their sons and daughters to the harshness of life on the Plains, the residents of High Prairie remained grateful for every moment. As I weather the ups and downs of building a coaching & speaking business here in the Heartland, I have resolved to take a lesson in GRATITUDE from the not-quite-forgotten members of the HighPrairieMethodist-EpiscopalChurch. How am I grateful? Let me count the days! I am grateful for the 46 years, 5 months and 16 days I’ve lived and learned upon this earth.  I am grateful for 7 years, 4 months and 12 days of loving my husband, and for the brief and joyful 7 months, 17 days, 5 hours and 18 minutes since we first laid eyes on our infant son, Luke.  I’m grateful for 20 years and 9 months as an artist, nonprofit exec and small-business owner in the city of Chicago, and for these last 2 years and 5 days in Matfield Green. I'm grateful for this prairie wonderland where I've enjoyed hundreds of miles of walks, more than 700 sunrises, countless little birds, dozens of wild turkeys (spotted just this morning), scores of whitetail deer, packs of howling coyotes, and one elusive bobcat that leaped out of the grass in front of me a month or so ago.   I’m grateful for the best friend who’s been by my side – in spirit at least – since we met at the city pool in Elmhurst, Illinois, four decades ago this June, and for the hundreds of colleagues, friends and clients who have made these last few years the most inspiring and creative of my career I’m grateful for the coming spring and the sun on the grass outside my window as I write these words. I’m grateful to you for being there to read them. What are you grateful for? Establishing a gratitude practice To fuel your business with your own sense of gratitude, dedicate the days between now at the vernal equinox (on March 20) to establishing a personal gratitude practice.  Create your own practice or try one of these:  1. For five minutes, once a day, write down everything you can think of that you are grateful for.  Nothing is too small or too silly.  Use a timer if you have one so that you can be completely in the moment as you write. When you are finished, take note of how you feel. 2. Buy a pack of notecards that you like and write a thank you note to a different person every day. Thank them for something specific or simply acknowledge how grateful you are for their presence in your life. 3. Tell at least one person each day how much you appreciate them and why. 4. Take a few minutes in the morning or before you go to bed at night to contemplate gratitude.  Sit quietly, focusing on your breath.  When you feel calm and centered, turn your mind to the word “Gratitude.”  Think about its meaning and about the people and things for which you are grateful.  Gradually let go of the words and simply allow yourself to feel and experience the essence of gratitude.  If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the word, “Gratitude.”  When you are ready, conclude by giving thanks for the opportunity to practice. What is your daily gratitude practice? The power of gratitude Making gratitude conscious, through regular daily practice, is a radically hopeful act.  It is also a sound investment in your business. Gratitude sooths the spirit.  Gratitude returns things to their proper perspective.  Gratitude energizes the body and mobilizes the mind. Matthew Fox writes in his book Creativity: “Gratitude is the ultimate enabler.  Gratitude moves us from apparent laziness to heroic giving.  Never underestimate the power of gratitude.  It can move mountains.  It can build great things.  It can arouse us to action.  That is why gratitude is the ultimate prayer.  It suffices to get us moving, get us giving birth, get us creating.” What will happen when you harness the power of gratitude? 2008-03-11T14:17:08Z

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harnessing-the-power-of-gratitude

2008-03-16T17:32:31Z

Making gratitude conscious is a radically hopeful act.  It is also a sound investment in your business. Coach Julia Fabris McBride encourages you to establish a daily gratitude practice, asking: What will happen when you harness the power of gratitude?

Harnessing the Power of Gratitude

2009-02-24T09:43:22Z