Living in gratitude
Living in gratitude
The book
This book was born out my need to feel happier at the tail end of a very difficult couple of years in my life, a dozen years ago. I decided to make a list of 365 things I was grateful for. While working on this list, I was sometimes moved to expand my thoughts into short essays. Merci ! A French woman’s journal of gratitude is a collection of these essays.
Gratitude requires attention to the present moment – watching for the myriad large and tiny nuggets of happiness that fill one’s life. Why is it so much easier to list the fears and worries that shrink my spirit? They seem to flow freely and without an end in sight if I let them. Choosing to stop and shift my focus to the blessings that surround me demands discipline, but the payoff is well worth it. A lighter heart – for which I am grateful.
Thank you for peeking into my world of gratitude. If enough of us decide to live on this path, I want to believe that we can change the world for the better.
Excerpts
A part of the whole
Feet tickled by the rough grass of this hill, I survey my beloved city: fog on one side, blue sky on the other, the Golden Gate bridge in a haze ahead, and all around, thousands of houses of all shapes and colors. A black haired woman is walking her polite white giant poodle, a Chinese grandma is carrying bulging plastic shopping bags, a young overweight Latino man is jogging around the reservoir. Grounded to this little patch of our planet, I am grateful to be a part of this macrocosm - not sure exactly how my being here matters, but trusting that somehow, it does.
Fog
The best city in the world can teach you many lessons. One of them several times daily: impermanence. San Francisco certainly is eventful in terms of weather if nothing else (ha!). Driving back from a sunny afternoon in rural Woodacre, the sight of the Golden Gate Bridge half disappearing in a soft, white blanket makes me grin ear to ear. The wide range of atmospheric phenomena around me seems to refl ect the wide range of emotional phenomena inside me. I am grateful to be able to experience the sunshine’s warmth, the fog’s refreshing caress, the prickle of the rain, and the wind’s hugs. They remind me that my joy will pass, and so will my sorrow.
Fresh starts
There is no need to wait until January first to make changes. I can start right now. Procrastination is a seductive siren, but she can get boring. Just as I enjoy a pile of freshly laundered clothes, I revel in the sense of optimistic momentum afforded by the dawn of a new adventure. A clean, blank slate holds infinite possibilities, and I have a significant amount of control over what materializes along the way. Whether it is as inconsequential as taking a diff erent route to work, or as exciting as building a company from scratch, I am grateful for new beginnings.
The magic of baking
I am forever in awe of the transformation that occurs when I slide a concoction in the oven. Mixing seemingly innocuous ingredients - flour, eggs, sugar, butter - creates an unassuming batter. But apply enough heat, and watch out! Delight will ensue. A rich, irresistible aroma fills the air, the mixture swells and air bubbles pop, a golden crust develops. When I remove it from the oven, the cake whispers its relief from the canicule, and when I bite into it... Heaven on earth. As well, I want to trust that the modest ingredients of my journey - kindness, simplicity, humility - will help create the delectable result of a life worth living.
