Breathe in… breathe out.
Do it again, only this time close your eyes and be mindful. Listen, pay attention to your body and your surroundings. Feel the air come through your nose, expand your lungs, and lift your chest. Feel the earth beneath your feet, and hear the world around you. Allow yourself to be bored and unstimulated for just a moment.
(stop reading, this will still be here when you get back)
What did you feel? if you actually did it, you should feel more relaxed and in tune with yourself and your surroundings. What did you hear? Feel? See?
I heard my lungs expanding, my wife laughing, birds singing and water droplets from last night’s rain. I felt my dog's soft coat touching my foot and the warmth of my clothes. I smelled brewing coffee and a burning candle. When I opened my eyes I saw the morning sun beaming into my living room and fish swimming in the backyard pond.
Before I did this exercise, I was stressed. I was thinking to myself, “what am I going write about? What does God want me to say about gratitude?” I was staring at the blinking line on Word. All I could sense was my work, my computer, and my Bible in front of me. So, as I usually do, I stopped, pulled back, closed my eyes, and breathed. I said a quiet “thank you, Lord” in the exhale, and then, all of a sudden, my eyes were opened to see God's goodness. Breathe in my lungs, a beautiful wife, the song of birds, rain to refresh the earth, a cute dog, clothes on my back, good coffee, a cozy candle, beautiful fish, and the gift of another day of life.
When we become mindful, we are able to see what is truly there; we are able to catch what we miss when we are in motion. Like a photo, the goodness of God is best captured when we are still. Even if it seems like there is very little, or much, to be grateful for, if we can bring ourselves be still and mindful our eyes would be opened up to see so much more.
And when we see more, our hearts become all the fuller with gratitude and thanksgiving. The Apostle Paul wrote, [give] thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20 ESV).
As we all take this time to give thanks, stop and breathe for a moment, that your eyes may be open to see more than you see now. And as you exhale, say “thank you Lord.”
Happy Thanksgiving.
—Pastor Alex Portillo