Gratitude ought to be higher on our 'to do' list 

 Published: Friday, November 25, 2011, 8:00 PM
By Plain Dealer guest columnist, Sister Beverly Anne Lograsso

 Psalm 92's affirmation, "It is good to give thanks. . . " is echoed in every religious tradition. Even a quick search on the Internet yields prayers of gratitude in Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist traditions as well as the thanksgiving psalms of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast calls gratitude the "heart of prayer." The recovery community reminds us: "An attitude of gratitude; it's not just a platitude."

And contemporary scientific research on the body/ mind connection finds that grateful people enjoy a boosted immune system and lowered coronary risk.

Why, then, is gratitude often so far down on our "to do" list?

Might gratitude be overshadowed by constant media messages of craving which focus us on what does not really matter?

Although crises in our lives can act as lasers beaming us to what we deem truly valuable, deep down we always know what really matters. So, barring a crisis, how do we re-connect to our soul truth?

Gratitude's power can shift our hearts from a dissatisfied malaise to joyful contentedness. On a recently rainy and gray day, when the weather matched my mood, I was walking into Cuyahoga Community College's Eastern Campus from the parking lot when I saw a woman struggle to get out of her car with a book bag and a purse while swinging her paralyzed legs between two crutches.

She offered gloomy me, walking on two healthy legs, a genuine "good morning." She changed my day through her joyful smile. Gratitude welled up in my heart; in an instant, I was grateful to be able to walk.

She was a transformative "grace" because her attitude prompted me to be grateful in my being and in my soul. Instead of telling myself that I should be grateful, I experienced heart-felt gratitude.

Gratitude's transformative potential is rooted in its power to establish relationships.

Although it is tempting to imagine the Academy Awards without winners' lists of "thank you's," wouldn't the show be sterile without them? We are reminded that each person, no matter how successful, talented, or wealthy, lives in an invisible support structure, a network of relationships that provide meaning for each life.

As a child, my beloved aunt would be on the phone to my mother in 48 hours if my thank you note to her had not arrived in the mail. My aunt's expectation of my response taught me to respect her generosity; she would not allow herself to be invisible and unacknowledged. As an adult, I understand that my small note to her strengthened our relationship by replenishing her emotional energy, an affirming "charge" of sorts that enabled her to continue to invest in a relationship with me.

Professional clergy of every denomination can easily attest to phone calls or visits from their congregational members who wish to give back after a cure or a positive result from a medical procedure.

An entire Oprah segment was devoted to reunions between those who were rescued and their rescuers -- people who just wanted to say a simple "thank you" to a clergyperson, fireman, doctor, police officer, teacher, social worker or bystander who intervened for them in a crisis. We crave the human connection, the meaningful relationship, even if it lasted a few seconds.

A "deep down" conversation to have, perhaps during half-time on this weekend of family, food and football, might be: How do my actions show my gratitude?

Spend quiet time asking yourself: What inspires me? What touches me? What am I grateful for that I have never expressed? For what and for whom might I be grateful in my religious tradition, my education, my ordinary life?

You'll be investing in your soul, your health and your community. How can you go wrong?

Happy Thanks-Living!

Sister Beverly Anne LoGrasso is a Cleveland Ursuline sister.

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