I’m thinking of gifts.
Not the blanket I bought as a wedding gift. Or the wine I gave to a friend. But the everyday pleasures: the light of early dawn, hot coffee, a quick smile and easy laugh . . .
It’s so simple, isn’t it? It goes like this:
To notice the world is to see more closely.
To see more closely is to feel more appreciation.
Appreciation leads to gratitude.
Gratitude feels good.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
* * *
And yet, I forget.
I get hurried, buried in worries, get busy, get mired, get lost.
Again and again, I return to the basics:
The world is full.
When I notice, the world offers delights.
When I accept the delights, I feel gratitude.
Gratification is the satisfaction of feeling delight.
Once experienced, gratification — like gratitude — is easy, is everywhere.
* * *
“Gratification is the sensory enchantment of everyday life,” writes Ian Bogost in The Small Stuff: How To Lead A More Gratifying Life. “To enjoy the momentary delights of the physical world, all I have to do is accept the sensory gifts it offers. Think of gratification as something the world gives and that you accept.”
From attention springs appreciation.
From appreciation comes contentment.
Contentment is cousin to gratification.
This is the gift, the riches, the abundance.
* * *
“Happiness is the sweetness of desiring what you have, fully aware of its fragility, its brevity and its limits,” says Stephen Grosz in Love’s Labor: How We Make and Break the Bonds of Love. It isn’t the absence of sadness, but the capacity to hold reality without needing it to be otherwise.”
Oof. Read that again.
Acceptance and appreciation. When we hold them both, we find joy.
This is simple but not always easy.
I keep trying anyway.
* * *
It’s Thankful Thursday, a weekly pause to express appreciation for people, places, things, and more. Please join me.
What are you thankful for today?
For today’s post, additional thanks to: Vicki Hellmer who provided the poem; Rob Walker at The Art of Noticing for sharing the idea of gratification.