Today
is Thanksgiving in the US, a prominent holiday typically marked by insane
travel nightmares for many, and a chance to spend time with non-core
relatives.
To
balance all that out we usually overeat, over drink, and slip into a
tryptophan coma in front of the TV.
At
least, that’s what the holiday has become for many.
Here at
Peak Prosperity we like to remember that the holiday consists of two words,
thanks and giving.
To
truly give thanks to the people around you, but also to life itself and the
immensely wonderful playground that is all around us in every moment, is to
step towards and then into happiness.
Gratitude
and happiness are linked. This has been proven in study after study (if you
prefer your lessons from western science) and has been known by various
spiritual lineages for ages (if you prefer your lessons from that arena).
This
TED talk on the topic is worth a listen and comes to us from a monk who tells
us to slow down, look where we are going, and be grateful:
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_steindl_rast_w..._be_grateful...
Or you
might try this cute short video which takes the experimental and data driven
approach:
What is it about being truly grateful that brings happiness?
In my
life what I’ve learned so far is that I’ve been fed a load of bunk about the
human condition.
One
example is that I’ve been led to believe that good heath is something that
you have to work for instead of being our natural baseline. Want to be
healthy? You’ve got to go to the gym and work hard. Instead, what I’ve
learned in that health is the human baseline, as it is for all creatures.
If you
are not healthy it means that something is out of balance in your life or you
are being exposed to too many unhealthy things (like sugar, excessive
carbohydrates, and inflammatory foods).
The
other example pertains to this topic of happiness. I’ve somehow been led to
believe that happiness is something that you have to attain, like health.
It’s something that you have to work for, maybe go somewhere and study with
someone, or take workshops and then meditate long and hard.
While
each of those things may be worth doing, they also support the fiction that
happiness is a rare and fleeting thing that must be earned.
Instead,
I now hold the view that happiness is our human baseline. It’s what sits
right at our core and is wired into our DNA blueprint.
No
matter where you go on earth, and no matter what the level of technological
sophistication of a culture, every culture has rituals because those are what
connect us with the moment.
It is
no accident that so many cultures independently developed rituals around
offering gratitude. The practice of gratitude is what helps us to get back to
our human baseline of happiness.
As I
experience it, gratitude provides me with the opportunity to re-connect with
the present moment, to provide my own frame of perspective on what I have and
the abundance in my life.
Without
gratitude we have to wait for life to take something away before we realize
what we had.
With
gratitude we can see the things we have while they are right there, in our
lives, nourishing us and providing abundance.
However,
it is the re-connection to the present moment that is, for me, the strongest
gift of gratitude. All we really ever have is this present moment. To be in
the present is to be content, and happy.
So as
we think of all the things we can be grateful for, health, family, food, a
roof over our heads, my invitation is to simply be grateful for the moment as
it is.
I am
grateful too for this community here at Peak Prosperity, for the work I get
to do in the world, and for everything in my life that got me to this point.
And I
don’t just mean the accomplishments and good times – but everything! –
suffering included. It all was necessary and contributed to who and where I
am in life and where I am is perfect because it is exactly where I need to
be.
What
are you grateful for?
