Gratitude

As summer has turned to autumn, good feelings and memories have arisen within me. I have always loved this time of year and am so grateful for the beauty and quiet that it brings. The cool moist air and long red sun rays warm the visual world. Feelings of gratitude naturally well up within me for the beauty of where I live, for the care taken by Indigenous friends and their ancestors in holding and honouring this land for millennia, and for the family, friends, and neighbours who comprise the community around me.

My gratitude goes to Spirit, to God if you will, for creating these bounties and material blessings. It’s one thing to say that I am grateful, but how do I express my gratitude to God for such a rich and rewarding life?

As a Baha’i I look to the writings of the Baha’i Faith for guidance. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of Baha’u’llah (prophet/ founder of the Baha’i Faith) and designated interpreter of his Father’s teachings put it quite simply in one of his many talks delivered in the US and Canada in 1912… “The best way to thank God is to love one another.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace

Sounds simple enough… or is it? Loving one another implies loving everyone regardless of who they are, where they come from, what they think, who or what they worship, what they look like or what they do or have done. Even with my best intentions I regularly fail at this. Perhaps if I truly practice my belief, a Baha’i teaching, that we are one people worshipping one God, that we each possess a spark of divinity, a divine connection to our Creator, and if I look for the Creator’s essence in each person I meet, maybe then I will fail less often and begin to love everyone.

I am filled with gratitude for the life I have, for my beautiful family and loving friends, and the endless bounty I receive… I am even grateful for the challenges I am tasked with facing. Perhaps if I look at each individual as the creation of the almighty God, I can do more than simply feel thankful and instead show that gratitude through action.

Submitted by Tim Mock

Spiritual Upliftment

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