Gratitude

lobster

I am always amazed how grateful people with next to nothing often are (not always).
Such people are a shining example to us rich enough to be on the Internet.

I am grateful to everyone here for their questions, answers, examples, insight and other unique qualities.
I wonder if saying thank you is a practice? I am sure it is.

What are you grateful for?
Thanking you in anticipation . .

riverflow

This is a beautiful thread idea, @lobster !

There is a lovely short story by Yasunari Kawabata from his Palm-of-the-Hand Stories called 'Thank You' that does make 'Thank you' a practice. I like the romance languages which derive 'thank you' from the Latin gratias which is where we get the English word 'grace' -- its an acknowledgement of those things and events in our lives that we have been graced with.

I don't think the thought has ever occurred to me, as a typical samsara-complainer of this and that, to truly compile such a gratitude list would be enormous in comparison to all the silly and petty gripes I have, both in terms of quality as well as quantity.

Here is an extremely abbrieviated list in no particular order:

My parents, for loving me in myriad ways and caring for me.

My girlfriend who has helped to heal my own insecurities in myself by simply listening to me. And I am thankful to be there for her as well, which is a gift.

My cat Issa, who died in January last year, who brought so much joy to my life every day. I miss him, but for the time we shared together, I will never forget. (I used to bow to him before meditating...)

To live in conditions that are safe and secure in a way that many others do not know. I shouldn't complain.

To work in a hospital and to help in what limited capacity I can-- if even just to provide a smile for patients.

There are certain friends in my life that have broadened my view of things and enriched my life in doing so.

I am thankful for those couple years a long time ago when I converted to the Church of Christ--because it helped to instigate my own philosophical searching which meandered about until I arrived here. As painful and as confusing as that time was in my life, I know it too played a positive role in my life (perhaps not in the way they expected).

I am thankful to be in good health. My back is not the greatest, but all-in-all I can manage in a way that some people cannot.

I am thankful to live in a time when Buddhism has been able to spread to the west, to have so much information available and people, including every one of you here in what is like an online Sangha to me (every day you teach me something new!).

There is so much more...

Jeffrey

I am thankful for molecules and their beautiful architecture I studied ten years ago.