Consciously expressing our gratitude at Thanksgiving and beyond

With Thanksgiving a week away, we find ourselves perhaps reflecting more consciously about what we have to be thankful for in our lives. For many, it is a time to give back in appreciation of one’s gratitude. And so we often find a steady stream of mail this time of year from organizations looking for our financial support.

I find it uplifting to read about all the wonderful work being done by many organizations, but disheartening to realize one can’t contribute financially to all of them. The nice address labels many send add to my sense of guilt as I tuck them away in a drawer for later use. Yet in sorting through the requests, I find myself clearer about which issues are closest to my heart and donate accordingly.

I remind myself that there are so many ways to express our gratitude, not just monetarily, but through volunteering our time and skills, through our kind words and actions toward others, and through our prayers. Cultivating a grateful heart bestows blessings to many, including ourselves.

Just last week the Star Tribune ran an inspiring article about a Minneapolis woman, Liv Lane, who created a Web site, www.oneyearofbeauty.com. It was born out of her experience of becoming excited about a beautiful rainbow that appeared while sitting at a stoplight. Greatly comforted by it during a challenging time in her life, she happened to look about and notice that no one in nearby cars appeared to be paying any attention to it.

So moved by the experience, she committed to taking a photo of something beautiful each day for a year and eventually, she posted those photos with accompanying words of inspiration on her Web site. She was amazed at the response it received, including appreciative e-mails so touching they brought her to tears. It helped her to realize even more fully the power of a grateful heart.

Consequently, she has quit her career of 10 years with General Mills and is pursuing development of her Web site and other materials full-time. Hoping to foster gratitude in people, she is quoted as saying, “When you focus on the good stuff, the good stuff multiplies.” Similarly, on her Web site she offers her favorite quote from Wayne Dyer: “Change the way you see things and the things around you change.”

One finds this principle often stated with accompanying testimony of how increased prosperity – not just financial, is manifested as a result of expressions of gratitude. Today we often hear it referred to as prosperity consciousness, particularly as it applies to tithing.

Joel Goldsmith in his book, “Consciousness Transformed,” explains: “Tithing is something that can only take place when individuals receive inwardly the realization of what great gifts of God they have received, and in gratitude decide to share some part of it. This sharing is just with the idea of thankfulness for the realization of God’s grace, and it is for this reason that those who spontaneously come to tithe are always generously and abundantly provided for.”

Some balk at belief in such universal principles of prosperity, finding it to be self-serving and allowing some to “buy their way to heaven.” Yet if we accept God, our life force, to be the infinite source of our prosperity, then it would seem we can trust that expressions of gratitude, including tithing, that do not stem from a place of pure love, caring and gratitude, themselves are not pure and thereby lose much of their holiness.

I see as evidence of this the rising inequalities in our country as the differences between the rich and poor widens, and the middle class shrinks. True expressions of gratitude and tithing would not result in the rapidly growing concentration of wealth among a minute percentage of the population, while increasing numbers struggle financially. Greed and unethical business practices surely taint these universal principles of prosperity as well.

As we turn to gratefully reflect on all the beauty and goodness in our lives this Thanksgiving, let us reflect consciously about how we choose to express our gratitude. Let us take time to marvel at rainbows and be awed by the shape of an angel in the ice outside our door as Liv Lane has done on her Web site. The uplifting responses she has received help remind us of the importance of reaching out to others in our gratefulness.

As we choose to tithe, let us remember the power of the universal principles of prosperity, not just for the recipients of our tithes, but in our own lives. And more importantly, let us not lose sight of our collective spiritual power as we envision the multiplying effects of our prosperity in an equitable manner – just as God would have it.

 Spiritual writer Lauren Carlson-Vohs shares this space with Dr. Bernard E. Johnson and the Revs. Tim Power, Rod Anderson and Timothy A. Johnson. “Spiritually Speaking” appears weekly.