Reflection | Six
At the beginning of a class that I teach at St. Olaf, we hold a “focus moment” which is a guided minute of present-moment awareness, centering, and practicing some form of gratitude.
I try to practice noticing gratitude for my life, and for the blessings which envelop it. However, noticing daily gratitude and sharing this awareness with my students has recently sparked something huge in me.
Several years ago a few specific gifts in my life came within my awareness (health, mobility, safety, and freedom) and I noticed that without these, my life would feel drastically different. I feel humbled knowing these elements make my life so comfortable and could also be taken away at any moment. I never want to take anything for granted. And much of the world has so little.
This awareness has grown exponentially, and meditating on this growing list, or parts, or one thing, or every thing, is a favorite practice of mine that feels very centering. At any point in the day or night, no matter where I am, I can practice awareness and gratitude. Feeling gratitude nuances peaceful changes in my mind-space, my body, and within the way I feel connected to life and to Divine spirit. “Counting” these blessings continues to ground and center me as my orbit moves, swirls, tips, and travels around.
I joyfully delight in each item and how it composes the fabric of how I live. Sometimes I can’t even wrap my head around such things.
Have you ever wondered how to count your blessings? Or how many gifts make up the fabric of your life? Try this. Compose a gratitude list. For example, say for each of the 35 gifts on my daily list, I can notice 15-20 elements, tangible or intangible, around, about, or within it (e.g. resources: money, cleaning supplies, cell phone access, easy transportation access, health care, etc.). That’s already 525-700 gifts for me to notice and be so very grateful for. As gratitude lists grow and modulate, it’s also a pleasure to notice how life modulates with them.
Life can be really challenging for everyone at times. Sometimes it may be difficult to feel grateful for or to see beauty in my list. However, I am trying to learn that I have a choice of where to place energy and focus during my days.
To quote a lovely offertory prayer from the church I grew up in until I was 7 years old, Unity Temple on the Plaza in KCMO: “Divine Love blesses and multiplies all that I have, all that I give, and all that I receive.” —August, 2025
