Spirit Matters: Gratitude practice illustrates the abundance in our lives

Now that Thanksgiving is over, let’s talk about gratitude.

The day after Thanksgiving has long been known as “Black Friday.” Before widespread online shopping, retailers counted on Black Friday being the biggest shopping day of the year. Traditional and online retailers often offer big items at big discounts to entice people inside their doors.

Some people make Black Friday an opportunity to shop with friends or family and spend the entire day on their feet, adding more and more bags of gifts to their collection. For those who do this, it can make for a fun and memorable bonding tradition to look forward to each year.

Although I have never participated in the chaos, I have watched the insanity unfold on television from my quiet living room.

People line up outside big-box stores, sometimes stretching for blocks, to have a better opportunity of snagging their coveted items when the doors opened Friday morning.

As doors opened, crowds rush and run into each other, with some seriously injured in the process.

It is a bit ironic that the day before all of this takes place has for many people been set apart to recognize the many blessings in their lives.

But why should a day for gratitude be set for only one day a year?

It is great that we do have a day earmarked on the calendar for intentional gratitude, but we are also free to extend that practice into our lives any way we want. And I have found that the times I have consistently practiced gratitude have been the most spiritually abundant times.

The thing about practicing gratitude is you quickly begin to appreciate the more subtle gifts life has to offer. And the more you are grateful for, the more you have for which to be grateful.

Yes, it is nice that you have a $70,000 car in your garage. And it is great you are one of the lucky ones to have a motor home and boat to play with. And it is even more wonderful that you get to take an annual luxurious vacation to Europe or the Caribbean or wherever.

But for most people who are living paycheck to paycheck – if they are lucky – food, shelter, heat, water, clothes, health insurance and the like are the real treasures, the real windfalls.

And what of the many things that pass us by daily, unaware?

Here are only a few:

• The single mother who is on her feet all day serving tables at a restaurant to support her family and must take in stride the self-entitled and abusive remarks that slide so easily off customers’ tongues and faces.
• The overworked and understaffed medical profession – those who went into the field to help heal others – even though they are bogged down in bureaucracy, paperwork and overflowing patient visits, they still try to give you the time and attention you need and deserve.
• The countless people who go to work each day to provide the goods and services that keep your life running smoothly – mechanics, hairstylists, accountants, attorneys, educators, therapists, and on and on.
• Friends, family and co-workers. They might get on our nerves for one reason or another, but they are there, keeping us connected to the realities of life, and when push comes to shove, they step up to whatever challenge life offers us.

A consistent practice of gratitude can get you through almost anything, even the darkest moments of life. For people who practice gratitude, there is always more than enough. For those who don’t practice gratitude, I’m guessing there is never enough.

Finally, consistent gratitude reminds us just how little we have to do with our own success. So many contribute throughout our lives to make it possible to get us through each day.

It would do us all well to remember this today and every day.

When we do, our entire life can be a harvest of blessings.

SPIRIT MATTERS is a weekly column by Jerrilyn Zavada Novak that examines experiences common to the human spirit. Contact her at jzblue33@yahoo.com.