“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough”
~Meister Eckhart
“It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy”
~Author Unknown
One can’t help but notice the flurry of posts on social media lately. Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook- Everyone is either participating in the ice water bucket challenge, or the announcement of three things they are grateful for, and nominating three people to pass on the positivity. Certainly one can’t argue the benefit of expressing a charitable and grateful heart, but I find myself wondering …why now? And what do these movements represent culturally?
Last year I went on a trip to Spain, and participated in a recovery convention while there. It was an awesome time of rejuvenation and fellowship. Europeans could teach us a thing or two about enjoying the moment, and appreciating the living of life.
While there, I went to quite a few 12 Step meetings. One of the most memorable moments of the trip was when a woman shared at a meeting, that, “Gratitude is the highest form of prayer.” I was struck by the profound nature of that statement, and have pondered it more than once since then.
If this is true, and I choose to believe it is – then we, collectively, have certainly been praying a lot lately. To be present, to be charitable, to be grateful, to commune in our own way with our Higher Power… and perhaps most importantly, to be aware of all the energy poured into this stream of consciousness.
When you take a step back and look at it all, it’s just plain hard not to be content and optimistic about the future – of our recoveries, our lives, our communities, our state, our nation, the world. We are all God’s kids, let’s celebrate goodness and gratitude together, and…
Let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees.
Marsha Stone
CEO
BRC Recovery