Gratitude isn't about finding the silver linings
What is good alongside the mess?
I love this new piece of nature art I have hanging in my home. The movement of the wood, the knots of struggle, the hope of the dragonfly, the wave of the stick like life, the soft feathers reminding us to fly in our dreams. The moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it and I am so grateful the artist was able to part with it, for it was her favorite piece as well.
Practicing gratitude doesn’t mean burying unwanted feelings or looking for the silver lining in a bad situation. Practicing gratitude means acknowledging what is good alongside the mess.
As we enter the dark season of short lighted days, I can’t help but think the reason for the holidays are a way to force us into the light within. And do we need more light now than ever on a collective scale.
I often wondered why couldn’t people express their gratitude and love all year long through phone calls, long walks, a written letter, a warm meal, endless ways to exhibit small kindnesses.
Here we are in the full moon, short days, longer nights and darkness. There are more opportunities to be a hermit, sleep longer, eat more carbs, and numb out on Netflix with a little cannabis. I am happy to oblige in all of the above because lately lucid dreaming, online sound baths, and creativity sessions have increased as a means to protect myself from the anguish.
Sure, it’s easier to lower expectations to improve happiness. However, I relish in the morning routine where peace and calm prevail in my alone quiet time. It’s a place where I can decide what will be allowed into my sphere that day.
I recall the Jewish morning prayer - Modeh Ani which extends gratitude to the new day, the blessings for waking with a fresh opportunity with new eyes is a miracle within itself. And it also encompasses the acknowledgement of the mystery of life in remembering we don’t have to have it all figured out in one day, that we are Divinely supported in being alive and trying to be good with each day. Allowing the tight grip of how we want things to be and giving over a little trust in flow for the synchronicities to be seen.
All that is packed into a little prayer for the morning!
The Paradigm Shift - Human Crisis of Epic Proportions
Shifting in the “BOTH AND” it is time for a new paradigm. For a while I was aggressively posting to point out those missing the very point of “BOTH AND” but it fell on deaf ears.
We will not win anyone over by pointing out their ignorance online.
I can only speculate that those who are closing down bridges (Brooklyn Bridge), working hard to get city councils to pressure for a ceasefire and free Palestine are sheep who are asleep fanning the flames of righteousness. They do not employ critical thinking nor do they have kindness in their hearts for they do not listen to “both and” statements. This is not equality.
There are so many people I thought would be on the same side as the Israeli people alongside the Palestinians against Hamas. Yet feminists, BLM, Latin groups are fighting against the very people who were massacred on October 7, ignoring the fact that hostages have been suffering alongside those held captive in Gaza.
Today I saw their reality and it is truly disturbing. Women of all shades standing at podiums in Oakland, CA stating none of October 7 is true, that Israelis killed their own people on that day, that Hamas is a freedom fighting organization.
Jews and Israelis are being gaslight on a global scale.
Who does this benefit? To simply be against Israel and any Jewish person? Does it benefit LGBTQ+ people to destroy Israel?
Unity benefits us all. Division is only serving one purpose and it isn’t peace. Creating us vs. them does nothing for humanity.
The Possibilities - A Dream?
From an existential perspective, this is a global human crisis of massive proportions. From environmental, to violence against one another, this is a time where we are in for major changes. This could be a way through to peace, justice and environmental restoration. Kind of like the Agricultural Revolution or the Industrial Revolution, this could be a Conscious Revolution. I sincerely pray it is a shift of epic expansion.
We are feeling helpless and hopeless for a reason.
This is a truly horrific time on planet Earth. And we have to feel all of it in order for there to be change, a shift in reality and consciousness. Our world is actually decaying, breaking down, on fire, flooding, dying. And it is also rising up with light workers, loving people.
What needs to happen:
Some individuals are “action takers” who are fighting politically to make change by saving lives and working to change the oppressive industrial complex. And others are using their imagination in other ways. Like harvesting food in greenhouses to desalination of sea water to create businesses that harness good and not destructive and to raise compassionate and empathetic human beings.
The individualist, survival of the fittest is simply not working when there are so many oppressed. Healthy competition has been over wrought by less competition and merging of big companies. It’s why we have no choice when it comes to airlines, there’s only a few to select from and then they have you over a barrel with extra fees to sneeze.
We have been here before
I remember my meditation teachers saying during the pandemic, “We have been here before. Our ancestors have been here before and they have survived. And we will survive this too.”
Maybe, just maybe we will apply old wisdom to these problems. We will go back to the land to harvest local food to feed one another, we will finally see that Native Americans and other indigenous peoples actually know what they are talking about and we commune with Mother Earth and honor Her, revitalize Her.
Maybe the shift from individual, independent self will once again become communal, interdependent selves. We have always been and always will be interconnected whether you see it or not. The ripple effect is real like a stone dropping into a placid lake.
If all you can do is shift your own consciousness, working on yourself by healing, meditating, however you can find yourself back in the truth and authenticity of humanity then do it. It will ripple out into the world as a light. And we need the light. Meditation and healing are radical ways to have impact on the world.
When all the voices of darkness unite in the world to destroy you - there’s a good chance you are the light. Keep shining until peace prevails.
And I am grateful to you who keeps on reading, staying with me until the very end of this week’s “Meditations & Musings.” Thank you. Toda raba.
Resources, Creations and Writings:
"Living in the Era of the Unthinkable” out now on Illumination on Medium
“The Bright Line Between Good and Evil” - Sam Harris podcast
At the Well - Monthly Rosh Chodesh Circle for in-person and online. Once we have a group of 8 or more, we will begin. Donation-based. Together, month by month, you'll get more deeply connected to yourself, your spirituality, and each other. People say it's one of their most cherished wellness practices! Accessible for all who are women or identify. No need to be Jewish to join. More info - here.
For more meditations find me on Insight Timer.
