[Fuusmchat] Fw: Gratefulness, in three steps

[Martha McGovern]

On BeingI recommend The Stations of the Cross video that is part of this issue.

Martha




From: The On Being Project 
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 6:53 AM
To: Martha McGovern 
Subject: Gratefulness, in three steps


                 
                    
           


            Art by Sophia Khan

            "This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before." — Maya Angelou


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            Brother David Steindl-Rast was born in Austria and spent his teenage years under Nazi occupation. Now 93 years old, the Benedictine monk is the founder of A Network for Grateful Living and a beloved teacher on spiritual gratitude. While his vocation may seem unrelated to his experience living through a fascist regime, Br. Steindl-Rast draws important connections between the two in his 2016 conversation with Krista. “To open your eyes and know another day, we can’t take it for granted. In my youth, we couldn’t take it for granted, because every night, the bombs fell,” he says. “There are all sorts of reasons why you couldn’t see another day, and you do. And that’s a wonderful thing.”

            This week, we’re returning to Br. Steindl-Rast’s On Being interview for its wisdom on how joy and gratitude take shape in difficult times like now. He frames gratitude as a practice, rather than a reaction to what’s outside our control. “You can’t be grateful for war in a given situation, or violence or domestic violence or sickness. There are many things for which you cannot be grateful,” he acknowledges. “But in every moment, you can be grateful.”

            He breaks down gratefulness into three steps — what he calls the “stop, look, go” methodology:

              a.. Stop is about stepping away from the movement of the world and of your mind. “Most of us [are] caught up in schedules and deadlines and rushing around, and so the first thing is that we have to stop, because otherwise we are not really coming into this present moment at all, and we can’t even appreciate the opportunity that is given to us, because we rush by, and it rushes by,” he says.


              b.. Look means to assess and behold the situation in front of you. As Br. Steindl-Rast asks, “What is the opportunity of this given moment, only this moment, and the unique opportunity this moment gives?”


              c.. Go is the practice of gratefulness that comes from stopping and looking around. “If we really see what the opportunity is, we must, of course, not stop there, but we must do something with it: Go. Avail yourself of that opportunity,” he says. 
            A practice of gratitude is not about dismissing sadness, anger, fear, or confusion. Rather, it offers us the opportunity to see that we often experience multiple feelings at once; to welcome joy into the same places where we hold grief; to turn our attention to what is quietly growing and breathing day by day, which, to our possible surprise, includes ourselves.

            Yours,
            Kristin Lin
            Editor, The On Being Project

            P.S. — We’re pleased to share this new meditative short film, “Blessings,” from A Network for Grateful Living featuring six “everyday blessings” from Br. Steindl-Rast.


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            This Week at The On Being Project

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            Our Latest Episode


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            On Being with Krista Tippett
            David Steindl-Rast
            “How to Be Grateful in Every Moment (But Not for Everything)”

            The Benedictine monk on gratefulness as a full-blooded, reality-based practice and choice.

            Listen on:
            Apple Podcasts
            Google Podcasts
            Spotify
            Our Website


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            Introducing: An ‘Unfolding Poem’ for the Moment We’re In

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            A note from Krista: John Paul Lederach is one of the wise people in our world — someone who, behind the scenes, has helped transform conflict across the world over decades, in places like Northern Ireland, Colombia, and Nepal. He's been a teacher to me and On Being about moral imagination and social courage. He is also a haikuist and has long kept a daily haiku journal. Now he is creating an “unfolding poem,” for which he’s gone back to his journals from the last week of 2019, when the world first had mention of a possible “new virus.”

            We’re delighted to publish this work in progress at onbeing.org and will share weekly updates through the post and in this newsletter. “Haiku are nature bound, yet the 5-7-5 [syllable structure] always weaves a delicate human filament,” he writes. “These days our frail membrane tries to remember forward. Remembering forward requires we keep our frail filaments soft and supple.” Read more.


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            Recommended Reading & Watching

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            Read | “She Who Persists! Our Passover Blessing For You” by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie | Lab/Shul
            While many of the usual traditions surrounding Passover and Easter have been upended this year, a number of digital offerings are emerging to meet the moment — including this Passover blessing from Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie.

            Read | “Principles for a pandemic” by Sister Joan Chittister | National Catholic Reporter
            The Benedictine nun (and former On Being guest) reflects on what her community’s tradition has offered her in the wake of the current crisis.

            Watch | “Stations of the Cross: A Reflection for Good Friday” by Pádraig Ó Tuama
            Our theologian and poet-in-residence shared this Good Friday meditation last week.


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