Living In Gratitude

I have recently taught myself to live each day like it was my last. This realization became evident throughout this past summer.

Some of you may know that I am an avid cyclist. My outings typically include packing my panier bags with food, water, and clothing (and other cycling supplies) and heading off for a day-long adventure. This past summer, my favorite destination was the hills of the Gatineau Park. The Park offers challenging terrain that regularly hosts triathletes, Olympians, and other competitive athletes. I have come to welcome the challenge in the Gatineau Park. The pristine roadways that wind their way through unspoiled forest have become a little piece of heaven for me.

Whether it’s cycling through the Gatineau Park, or taking a more relaxed cycle on more gentle terrain, I have become acutely aware of just how grateful I am to be able to spend a day on my bicycle. Whether it was a cycle in the Spring, Summer, or Fall, this season I treated each and every cycle like it was my last cycle for the season. I didn’t consciously intend to treat each cycle like it was my last one. It just happened. And as each cycling adventure unfolded and came to an end for that day, I became acutely grateful for the blessing of that day.

The practice of treating each cycling day like it was my last, has spilled over into other parts of my life. Now, each day, whether it includes cycling or not, I feel an immense gratitude for the day. It could even be a mundane day, one where everything goes as planned. Sometimes its these days I am the ‘most’ grateful for.

This attitude of gratitude has allowed me to live in gratitude. And it’s not only the ‘good’ that I’m grateful for. To truly live in gratitude means to welcome it all! Not only am I grateful for what I see as good, but I’m becoming equally grateful for what I see as other than good. This living in gratitude reminds me of the beautiful poem by Rumi, ‘The Guest House’:

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.

meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.

because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Welcome gratitude into your life. It can transform you and your life in ways you could never imagine!

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.