Gratitude with an "H"

What can I say about the "H's" of Gratitude? Let me think....

Hands: strong, makes me think about my pioneer great grandmothers and the hard work they did with their hands. My own hands, especially when I was a massage therapist and my hands and arms were strong! Hands which break bread, hold bread, guide chalice. Hands which caress, love, care. Holding hands with my husband. Holding the hand of my child when she or he was little as we walked. Hands comfort and support.

Heart: a place to be grounded in God, a place to give and receive love. Heart that sustains life in more ways than one.

Happiness: tough one. Happiness. I hated the movie, Pursuit of Happiness. And since then it has caused me to ponder the feeling state of happiness. I think it is mostly just a fleeting emotion. I feel happy every now and then. For example, when I got off the Super Shuttle at General Convention in Anaheim and I saw the huge blue sign that reads: "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You" I was very happy. I was happy to be at GenCon. But of course the intensity of that initial feeling did not last. That is always the case. I think true happiness, the kind that resides in us as a state of being, is really more like the ability to be grateful for life even with the bumps and hurdles and challenges. Gratitude, or maybe, inner peace, or contenment.

Comments

Diane M. Roth said…
I LOVE what you say about hands.
altar ego said…
Oh, hands. I am so aware of hands at communion as I place the body of Christ in them. Young, old, shapely, delicate, gnarled, twisted, strong... I keep wanting to write something about that, but what exactly to say hasn't formed in me yet. Yes, hands.
hands and hearts... and happiness... all so intertwined.
Anonymous said…
I think dogs have the happiness thing all figured out. We could probably learn a lot from them :)

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