Expressing gratitude amidst the lockdown
Covid-19 caught all of us with our pants down. And for many, if not most, it is dictating that we stay inside to reflect on that which is. It has also, as Barry Malone said, “not been an equaliser.
It has been a magnifier of inequality and injustice that permeates every aspect of society, allowing some to take refuge behind privileges and money while those less fortunate are left to struggle.”
Much has been written about the anxiety caused by the lockdown and how to overcome the sense of powerlessness and despair. Many suggest that one should focus on what you have within every moment, rather than fussing over what you do not. Expressing gratitude has indeed been shown as having a calming effect on the mind and the emotions.
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I was once told by my exco (God and the angels) to “just be”. On inquiry as to the precise meaning, this was the reply: “to be, is to do absolutely nothing (but being grateful and visualize) in order to achieve absolutely everything’’.
But here’s the thing. Is a simple emotionless expression of gratitude enough?
Visualization is an amazing technique for manifesting what one desires in life. In fact the Essenes – authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls and who lived near the Dead Sea at a place called Qumran in 2000 BC, were adamant that any visualization will only yield results when one can actually vividly smell, taste, feel, hear the elements within your visualization or prayer.
So visualization should then in fact be a totally immersive emotional and physical experience, even though one would be quite still and stationary. Does this make sense?
One has to experience and take ownership of the content of your visualization as if it already is right here right now.
The emotion which accompanies successful achievement is indeed a truly deep and authentic experience. You see, to think about something is one thing. To actually passionately experience it in your mind is activating that thought or desire.
So this morning as I woke and expressed gratitude for a new day. I was suddenly struck by the sound of that expression in my mind. It was so casual and meaningless I was stunned!
If it sounded meaningless, it is meaningless. I dug into the subconscious to extract reminders of experiences which rendered authentic emotions of gratitude (and there are many), and then I again expressed gratitude. This time it felt different – my soul responded.
Now I am not trying to simplify the challenges relating to stress and anxiety. To practice gratitude is not always that easy. Tell someone who hasn’t eaten for days to be grateful, or a parent who have been starving themselves in order to feed their children. It is not that easy and I do not have all the answers either. Just being alive and breathing, is in itself, enough cause for gratitude but yes, at times, I certainly am anxious too!
Point is, if one expresses gratitude and your soul does not respond to this expression, if you do not feel that gratitude nor feel the intention and attention, then in my opinion the expression is pretty much meaningless.
Lockdown dictates a redirection of our focus. If we make gratitude part and parcel of that new focus and we share within our communities, the gifts may well surprise us all.
