Like a steady rain...



I went to a 12-step meeting today at lunch, and the topic was "gratitude." When I came out of the building after the meeting, a gentle rain had begun to fall...and it occurred to me that gratitude, like a steady rain, can water the dry places in our hearts.


I've recently started attending Al-Anon, a fellowship of people whose only requirement for membership is that you have either a friend or family member that struggles with the disease of alcoholism. As I look back over my life, I realize that I qualify for participation several times over, and yet...I've only just begun to experience and benefit from the great gift that is shared in this unique fellowship.


I am filled with gratitude today, for a very long list of good gifts in my life...some of them practical gifts of provision and personal belongings, others are gifts of profound love and connection with friends and family that make up the mosaic of my 50-year life on this earth.


During the lunch meeting, I heard this amazing idea...rather than counting sheep as a cure for insomnia, why not begin with the letter "A", and work your way through the alphabet with things for which you are grateful? I think I'll try it tonight.


And one last thing I heard today, that seemed worthy of sharing here:


Gratitude is not a feeling, but a daily practice. -Anonymous




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