Wednesday, December 2, 2020
The Rev. Anne Williamson
The Superpower of Gratitude
I have never been the best at the written thank you note…just saying…I know there are belated thank you’s to be written as I write! But I know saying thank you, expressing gratitude, makes me feel better and there is a reason for that – our brains are wired that way. I was reading an article in National Geographic this past weekend, primarily focused on helping children development a practice of gratitude but pertinent for any child of God! When we express gratitude, oxytocin is released in the brain which promotes feelings of ‘empathy, calmness, trust and a sense of safety’. Pediatrician Hina Talib says ‘gratitude is like a secret ingredient to happiness, or a superpower to foster positive feelings.’ Expressing gratitude gives us more than a momentary feel-good fix; the practice of gratitude leads us be more resilient, empathetic and compassionate – three attributes we always need but especially in Covidtide!
On Thanksgiving Day, I offered gratitude for blessings coupled with prayers for what is hard. That resonates with Maggie Skafidas’s Advent Calendar . Using a form of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen of Consciousness, there is an invitation to review each day with gratitude.
As I have said before, the idea is to have a practice of gratitude as well as an attitude of gratitude! So today I offer to you my Thanksgiving practice of gratitude including some of my Thanksgiving blessings as well as the prayers that accompany them.
I had a Thanksgiving Day unlike any previous Thanksgiving Day – I have often been apart from part of my family – that is not new – but wherever I was, in England, in Switzerland, in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan or New Hampshire, there was a gathering of family or friends. This year, the ‘gathering’ was on Zoom, with family in London and Berlin as well as Florida and New Hampshire – I am grateful for the technology that enables many people to gather in ways we never thought possible. I hold in my prayers those who do not have access to that technology and are truly on their own every day.
I have often heard the story of the first Thanksgiving but this year I hold that traditional story with the knowledge I have gained on the Sacred Ground course, and the reading associated with the course; the story is both richer and more tragic than I knew. I am grateful for the Abenaki people, the traditional custodians of this land. I hold in my prayers indigenous peoples everywhere who are not able to live on the land they once tended, and I pray for the work of racial reconciliation, repentance and reparations that the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire has committed to.
On Thanksgiving morning, I spoke to a dear friend who was widowed earlier this year. To all who are bereaved…the ‘firsts’ are hard, and this was her first Thanksgiving without her husband who loved Thanksgiving. We talked about the need to thank God for our blessings, of which there are many, while holding the sadness. I am grateful for all those who have helped me through seasons of loss, grateful for all those who have shared their joys and sorrows – thank you! I hold in my prayers all who grieve.
On Thanksgiving Day we heard a story from Luke’s gospel of Jesus healing ten lepers; only one of the lepers returned to praise God with gratitude. It is easy to get carried away in the emotions of the moment and forget to be grateful. In this pandemic, so many people from health care workers to first responders, food bank workers, our own Common Table team, to name a few, reach out to help. I am so grateful for them and I pray for their safety and well-being.
There is healing of a different sort needed at the moment, a reaching out to those in our families, communities and nation who both share many of our own concerns and values and yet see different approaches to meeting the concerns and living those values. I am grateful for the good work of groups like Braver Angels and all who are seeking to foster constructive dialogue across divides of difference. I pray for all who are having difficult conversations with those we care deeply for, that we might have those superpowers of resilience, empathy and compassion born of gratitude, as we do this hard, sweet work to love one another as we love ourselves, as God loves us.
Today, in this moment, I am so grateful for the many ways in which members of the St. John’s community have stayed connected with one another in this tumultuous time. I pray those connections may continue to flourish. And I pray for those in our community who feel disconnected. I wait eagerly for the time when we can safely come back together in body as well as in spirit and pray for that day to come soon.
Today I invite you to claim the superpower of gratitude; give thanks for the good, offer the hard things to God, and may you know God’s peace.
“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 4:6-7
