In ALL Things Give Thanks...

I’ve just about finished ANE…reading slowly….reading a lot of the message boards on Oprah and listening to the webinars. We’ve been on vacation this week. We went to Ontario over the weekend. It was their long weekend…so we usually go then since we can visit longer with people since they don’t have to on the Monday. They take it seriously too since even walmart’s were closed on Monday (Queen Victoria’s Day) We came home Monday and on the way home, I started to get sick. By Monday night I had a full fledged stomach virus….aches, pains and all the other unpleasantries that go with a stomach virus. I was sick all day Tuesday (deathly) and most of yesterday was spent being awake for a few hours…back to bed. I feel okay today but am resentful of spending two vacation days sick.

“Coincidentally” I was reading the transcript from Chapter 7 last night and part of the the conversation went like this:

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OPRAH: And that when you acknowledge and are grateful for whatever you have, when you can see and feel the gratitude, experience the gratitude in whatever you have, that changes your vibrational frequency…literally.

ECKHART:Yes.

OPRAH: And allows more to be drawn to you.

ECKHART:Yes. It changes your entire reality. It changes the way in which you experience life.

OPRAH: Yes it does.

ECKHART: It changes your world. And so it's—if that's the only thing people remember, there are many things in this book, but just if they want to change their lives, they're not happy with their lives, bring gratitude into it, which is, of course, connected also to the present moment because it's only, "Here in this moment…what is it in this moment that I can be grateful for?" And then you suddenly say, "Oh, it's all that." There's always—it's miraculous if you truly look around and sense and feel, it's miraculous. The entire universe is miraculous. And when you are so trapped in your thoughts that you don't see this anymore, then the entire universe becomes dead to you and there's nothing new that ever arises.

OPRAH: You know, I was practicing this this weekend, I was saying to Eckhart before we started that I was under the weather and had an obligation in New Orleans and wasn't able to fulfill that commitment, and normally I would've just been beating myself up about it, cause I've never had to cancel anything before, but I decided to be with the fact that I was sick. And I had one of the happiest days of my life being sick in bed because I accepted it and was not fighting the fact that I wasn't well. I thought, "I'm going to be with feeling badly, and I'm going to appreciate everything about the day." So every cup of tea that Stedman brought me, I was happy. And happy that I was, you know, I had clean sheets. I mean—and happy that I could open the curtains and there was sun coming through the window. Just—and I just had the most happy time being sick in bed. Yeah. So that's what you're talking about.

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So, let’s just say that I was not thinking about the clean sheets (although they were) and I was not thinking about the cup of tea (other than the fact that I was throwing it up) nor was I especially thankful for Keith even though he was very gracious about having two days of his vacation plans spoiled because of me. I wish that I had read this snippet before I was sick….because in retrospect, there were things I could have been grateful for. One is that the kids are with their dad this week and I didn’t have to deal with them (since even talking was “painful”) and that I didn’t get really sick until I got home near my own bathroom. I was fine while I was there in Ontario for three days and we got to do all that we planned on doing. That Keith went to the store for me to get me apple juice and chicken noodle soup (which I threw up) I watched a movie with Keith in the afternoon on Tuesday, something I rarely do, but I was too sick to do anything else at that point (and it was a good movie). I’m sure I could go on…..but again the book reminds me of scripture….a well known scripture…..

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you

….. and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

I have no deep insights from this “lesson” other than to remind myself to remind myself of what I have to be grateful for in each and every moment….which may be the point afterall…..