Grateful Gathering

(Feel free to bring your lunch. You are also welcome to leave early if you need to get back to work.)

To receive Grateful Living's resources directly to your email, please register - just one time - at https://grateful.org/gathering/karin-cross. When you register, you will initially receive links to the resourcs for the first three foundational meetings that we had. Then you will begin to receive the links to the resources for the upcoming month near the end of the previous month. You only need to register one time. You can cancel whenever you want.

October Theme: Connect with the Natural World
From A Grateful Day...Imagine for a moment a glass of water. If you have limited access to clean water or have to work hard for it, you know how precious that full glass is. But if water is available at the turn of a faucet, it’s not uncommon to leave the tap open a few extra seconds or pour a half-full glass down the drain without thinking. Living gratefully isn’t about some strict set of rules, but it is about the ways we become more fully alive when we pay attention to and care for the gifts that are available to us. If we’re consciously mindful of the gift of clean water — and other gifts of the earth — a few things become more likely.

First, we enjoy life more. We delight in the trees along our morning commute. We savor the colors of the vegetables and fruit we’re preparing and eating. We relish the stream’s cool water on a hot summer day. Br. David Steindl-Rast reminds us that when we are grateful for the world around us, much of what is offered is the opportunity to enjoy life!

Second, we’re called to act on the earth’s behalf. When we’re attuned to the gifts of the earth, not taking them for granted, it becomes far less likely that we can ignore the ways the earth needs our care. If we’re consciously grateful for the oxygen provided by forests, we are more likely to protect them. When we savor available fresh food, we increase our awareness of those whose food sources are damaged or limited. Our gratitude for the natural world begins with greater awareness of the earth’s gifts and is completed by responding reciprocally with our care and protection.

Third, when we’re aware of and grateful for the natural world, this awareness serves as a reminder, every day, of the ways that we belong to one another and to all of life. The same sun shines on all of us. Water systems are connected. Being awed by nature’s beauty is universal. In all of this there’s a wonderful symmetry: the more we notice, cherish, and care for the gifts of the natural world, the larger in heart and spirit we become.

In the end, developing a deep and abiding gratefulness for the natural world begins with appreciating its beauty and its gifts: noticing, savoring, and giving thanks. But it doesn’t end there. It includes our care and attention. And through the reciprocal relationship that evolves through mutual nourishment, we find ourselves more awake and more alive.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
What helps you feel a sense of connection to, and gratitude for, the natural world? What does this look like in your daily life?

When was the last time you sat or walked outside without a specific purpose — just to take it in, to savor it?

What is your preferred mode of connecting with the natural world? Are you able to access this regularly, or do you wish you had more opportunity?

When you are consciously grateful for nature’s gifts, how does it impact you? Does it change how you feel physically, emotionally, or spiritually?

What gets in the way of connecting with the natural world?

Are there any gaps between your gratitude for the natural world and your actions?

What is one thing you do — or would like to do — to contribute to the well-being of the earth’s beauty and resources?

In what ways does connecting with the natural world remind you that you are connected to all of life and that you’re not alone?

What has the natural world taught you? What is it teaching you now?

Grateful Gatherings is a group in which we share our love and passion for gratitude. If you know the power of gratitude – or you want to know it – and you want to talk about it, learn about it, and grow with other like-minded gratitude folks…then this is the place for you.

Gratitude changes everything, and so does the power of collective intention. Each month, the Grateful Gatherings around the world explore and expand around a common gratitude related theme provided by Grateful Living. Don’t you just love when our Inner Work makes the world a better place too?!

Join us monthly as we connect and grow in gratitude!

This event is free.

Facilitated by Karin Cross.