A Day of Thankfulness

When I began teaching about contemplative spirituality, I was fortunate to find a book that has become key to the success of that venture.  The book, Essential Spirituality, by Roger Walsh helped me think about how I wanted to structure the class and, then, it offered a wealth of practice exercises to help students and me alike learn how to start to live contemplatively.  In that sense it is a very practical book.  Students routinely have told me that was one book they planned to keep.  Most of the time students unload books soon after a semester concludes! 

I did not know about Walsh.  It turns out, he has an intriguing background.  He is Australian by birth and education, but now teaches at the University of California at Irvine.  He has a medical degree and a Ph.D.  Currently he is Professor of Psychiatry, Philosophy and Anthropology at Irvine.  I owe him a debt of gratitude for this helpful book. 

The title of the book is given some more focus when we note the subtitle: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken the Heart and Mind.  To give a sense of his approach and the practicality of Walsh’s approach, let’s look at one particular exercise contained within the second central practice.  The second central practice he calls, “Cultivating Emotional Wisdom.”  His thinking is emotional wisdom is one aspect of living contemplatively.  If we are emotionally immature, it will be difficult to live a centered, mindful life.  Instead, we will be spending more time being angry and looking to get even.  Alternatively, we might be checking out---opting for apathy in order not to be hurt anymore.   

A simple exercise I like to practice Walsh labels “A Day of Thanksgiving.”  It is fairly simple and doable.  I want to share its details and hope you might join me in occasionally practicing this exercise.  If you don’t think you can manage a whole day, commit to an hour or two---or perhaps a half day.  Hopefully, this gives us a chance to live just a little more contemplatively.  To do so means we will be more likely to appreciate our lives and those around us.   

Walsh begins in this fashion.  “Think of the people you will meet during this time.  These might include family members or friends who love you, the bus drivers who get you to and from work, or the janitor who cleans your room.” (101)  That should be easy.  Unless you are living a hermit life, you inevitably encounter many different people throughout your normal day.  I am sure most days I encounter at least a hundred people.  Even if you are retired and the number is less than that, you surely have enough to do this exercise.  

Being aware that our focus is all the people we will meet in one day, Walsh tells us, “See if you can find a reason to feel grateful to each person you meet.”  On one level, that seems easy enough.  But thinking about it a little more makes me realize I need a certain level of awareness and maybe even attention to pull it off.  I realize how often I encounter someone, but I don’t give it much thought.  It comes off as a superficial encounter---no harm, but certainly not special.  To be grateful to and for people means I move to a deeper level of encounter.   

This is the kind of life I want to live.  I can call it contemplative living, but the language does not matter as much as the reality of a life lived like that.  As so the next step of Walsh’s counsel encourages us to “continue this recollection of gratitude throughout the day.  Try to bring to mind a reason for feeling grateful to each person you meet.”  To do this underscores why we will be to be aware and attentive.  I cannot come up with a reason for gratitude unless I am aware and reflecting.  I realize to do this will keep me in a healthy tension with all that goes on in my life---minute by minute.  

We are reassured by Walsh when he notes, “This need not take long; a few seconds may be enough to recall some quality or gift of theirs that you appreciate.  In this way each person becomes a bearer of good feelings and each meeting is a cause for gratitude.”  Who does not have a few seconds per person encountered to make your own life richer?   

The nice thing about this exercise is we can do this as part of everything we planned to do during the day anyway.  It is not onerous; no particular skills are needed.  What I expect to discover in my own application of it is just how unaware I am some of the time.  I am sure it is going to help me link awareness and gratitude.  To practice this exercise should help me address the habit of superficiality, which is so characteristic of our society.  And yet, most of us probably don’t see ourselves in this light! 

If we can practice this exercise, then Walsh assures us that we “may understand why gratitude is called the heart of love.”