“Gratitude is not a passive response to something we have been given,
Gratitude arises from paying attention,
From being awake in the presence of everything
That lives within and without and beside us.”
-David Whyte
The Hebrew phrase for gratitude, hakarat hatov, literally means to recognize the good around us. This choice of phrasing reminds us that gratitude is not something that happens to us, but rather, something that we must actively choose to practice and recognize. True gratitude takes deep presence, and sometimes, our busy minds can make this a bit too difficult to acheive. The great Jewish sages understood well that it takes incredible focus to give thanks with our whole heart; indeed, many of the ancient rabbis would meditate or sit for long periods of time even before they began their morning blessings just so that they could fully give their attention to their practice of prayerful gratitude.
Most of us don’t have this luxury of time (or power of concentration!) that our sages had for an ongoing, focused, intentional practice of gratitude. And yet, we can still bring pieces of this recognition of goodness into our daily lives. How can we, this week of Thanksgiving, push ourselves even just a small amount to refocus our attention away from the media, the noise, the divisiveness, the busyness of our lives to a space of quiet calm and deep recognition of our many blessings? I encourage you to make special space this week to actively practice gratitude for what you have been given, what you have worked for, and what you are most grateful for in the fullness of our life. May each of us be open, this week and always, to noticing the goodness that enriches our lives.
–Cantor Emma Lutz