Blink!

Today I share a re-post, courtesy of  D.K. Brainard’s Words For the People.  D.K. lives and works in New Orleans and is, among other things, a perceptive astrologer.  But aside from that, he writes on subjects that interest me and we share many perspectives.

In fact, I was just sitting at my desk catching up on my overloaded Google Reader, and feeling incredibly grateful to be listening to Willie Nelson playing a new Austin City Limits show on my TV in the background.  Willie has been part of the fabric of my universe for so long, and as I listened tonight, I felt enveloped by the warm feeling we get from those family members whose presence always makes us feel oh so stable and secure.  As I was silently sending out thanks that Willie just keeps on going no matter how many years go by, I found this post in my reader.

So I guess what I’m saying is…turkey is NOT required for experiencing thankfulness in my life…how about yours?

The Problem With Thanksgiving

By D. K. Brainard

I was talking about abundance with Aoghain Lakes, the Irish healer I work with at Eternal Balance in Royal Oak. He said, “The secret to manifesting abundance is so simple. It’s gratitude and optimism, and that’s all it is.” Americans, he said, have a hard time getting this because we’re so programmed to believe in the American Dream.

“Americans think, ‘When I get the American Dream, then I can be happy and fulfilled.’ But that’s not the way it works! The way it works is, when you are thankful for every moment in your life, then you will be far happier and wealthier than you could ever imagine by going after the American Dream.”

To Aoghain’s mind, when Americans say “thank you” we are often saying it out of a sense of social obligation — we say it because it’s good manners and then we feel pleased with ourselves for remembering. Whereas when people in other parts of the world say “thank you,” you can really feel the power of their gratitude.

I’ve been reflecting on our conversation this weekend and I’ve come to two conclusions:

(1) Americans aren’t un-grateful by nature; we’ve actually been systematically brainwashed to believe that being “good” means always striving for more.

(2) The other reason we find it so hard to express genuine gratitude is because most of us don’t know what it feels like to truly live in want.

I’ve been blessed (thank you, life!) with the wonderful fortune to travel extensively to other countries. Probably the most important thing I learned in all of my traveling is that people are the same everywhere you go. Most people, if they haven’t been systematically abused, are basically kind at heart and want to live a happy life. Some nations have better laws and better resources than other nations, but the people themselves are pretty much the same.

I also learned that the less stuff people have, the more generous they tend to be with it.

And maybe that is why it is so hard for us to remember to practice gratitude here in the USA — because we have so much that we’ve forgotten what it feels like to be truly grateful. We don’t tend to need – or accept – a lot of help here in the USA. We’re the ones helping you, and in our culture there’s not a whole lot we consider more shameful than not having enough. Woe unto the American man who has to ask for a helping hand!

I think the second part of the equation is the programming. We’re indoctrinated from a very young age to believe unquestioningly that the reason we’re the best people in the entire world is because we have the right and the obligation to pursue the American Dream. The word we use to describe this dream is “freedom.” But the dream was co-opted long ago by clever programmers, both corporate and political, who have convinced us to trade in the duties of freedom for the ephemeral pleasures of bread and circuses (pizza and cable, in the parlance of our times).

When we talk of freedom, on a subconscious level we’re thinking of the freedom to have and to get more. I think of myself as worldly wise and educated and spiritual, and yet how often am I able to be truly content with what I have and where I am in life? How much of my inner longing is the conditioned American desire for more, more, more?

And yet I believe Aoghain and all the spiritual teachers who’ve come before him who proclaim that the first step to true wealth is acknowledging the abundance we already have. Maybe instead of beating myself up this week for not finding it easier to stay in this mindset, I’ll remember that I was ruthlessly programmed to strive for more, to live in an imaginary future of “success” and “wealth” and to ignore the multitude of blessings that fill my life in this present moment: heat in the winter, fine clothes, warm shoes, a loving partner, loving family members in reasonably good health, not to mention the opportunity and energy to express my Divine creative gifts in so many different ways.

In these dark times we’re living through, we don’t know what the future will bring. But we are so fortunate to have not only enough, but the astounding wealth we enjoy each and every day…my goal this week is to practice gratitude and really feel it in my heart.