I have been feeling a lot of gratitude lately, and I have noticed that I am able to be grateful even for negative experiences. The key is not to label them, but simply accept them as “experience of any sort”. All sensations, all feelings, all perceptions: they move us in ways, change us in ways, make possible the liberation of joy and happiness.
In my own case, both my parents tried to kill me in their own ways. The aftereffects of this subtle but very real energy have bothered me my whole life. But that poison is becoming separate from me, outside of me. It is the not seeing that is most dangerous, most hurtful. It is the hurting and not knowing why, because if you can’t see the source of something, it is very hard to turn off the spigot. You are shot invisibly in the dark, helpless to defend against it.
I am grateful for this poison, and for the seeing of this poison.
One reply on “Gratitude”
For me personally, the conscious practice of gratitude has been incredibly spiritually transformative, opening spiritual doors that I had been beating my head against for decades.
I'm just amazed this isn't more widely known/practiced. It's not particularly easy – especially at first! – but the rewards are more than worth it.