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After 12 years of research and 11,000 pieces of data, I did not interview in all that time a person who would describe themselves as joyful or describe their lives as joyous who did not actively practice gratitude. And for me it was very counterintuitive because I went into the research thinking that if you're joyful then you should be grateful. But it wasn't that way at all. It was really that practicing gratitude invites joy into our lives. And when I say practice - and this is the part that really changed my life - I don't mean the attitude of gratitude or feeling grateful. I mean actually practicing gratitude. What these folks shared in common was a tangible gratitude practice.      --- Brene Brown

During the pandemic, when the disruption and fear had really taken hold, it was hard to sleep.  For me, for my son, especially.  We began a graitude practice.  Each night, we would each share something we were grateful for, and then I would switch on an LED candle in a chalice that we used as a night light.  It burned through the dark night with a warm glow.  (The next day, I would recharge the candle, knowing the next night would come soon...)

The world seemed hard then, as it does now.  In such times, it is tempting to think of graitude as better suited for better circumstance.  True, gratitude does comes easier when times are good... but it may be just as true that gratitude is more necessary when times are tough.

This is where practice comes in.  Intentional rooting.  Grounding in what is good.  This is how we face the darkness, with candles lit and hearts trained on what we love.

"No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I'm clinging..."

As poet and philosopher, Mark Nepo, puts it: “The original meaning of the word 'appreciate' means to move toward what is precious. So practicing gratitude reengages our aliveness, awakens us to what is precious.”

Maybe the most important part of this month’s theme is the "nurturing" part. We expect to talk some about gratitude in November.  So, let's focus on the verb.  Nurturing -- done well -- is intentional practice.  Sitting back and waiting for gratitude to arise is not enough. Gratitude offers its challenge to change our lives, not just appreciate them.

“As difficult as it may be, we cannot wait until everything is going well to practice gratitude. We cannot wait until there is no war, no poverty, no injustice, and no terrorism. In other words, we cannot wait until all is well, until we are content and safe and secure. In fact, gratitude can be an act of defiance, a conscious decision to accept what is taking place in our lives and in the world as they are, and to choose to say ‘thank you’ anyway… saying, 'yes, I know this life is not all I hoped, all I wanted, but I can find a way to see goodness in it anyway.'” -- Rev. Janet Parsons

May gratitude be to you an act of defiance, a practice of resilience.  May you be guided this month by what is good; may it be your grounding; may it help you face that which must change.  May your connections be a matter of practice, a powerful choice in a world hell-bent on distraction and division.  And out of that deep connection, may we build the world we dream about.  

And, in the meantime, may you get some good sleep.