OK, I began walking to work today thinking about smiling. And about wrinkles. Wisdom is beginning to trace expressions on my face. And they reveal some history of my emotions. But it's a different picture than the artificially lifted, botox-enhanced faces of our common culture media. This could lean away from thinking positively. Time for thinking in a new direction.
Gratitude jumped to mind. Last night I finished reading The Year of Living Biblically, by A.J. Jacobs. He's an agnostic with Jewish heritage. He wonders what he may be missing by basically ignoring the bible, and also wonders what biblical values he should be teaching his young family, so he begins a quest for biblical learning. He tries to live as faithfully as possible to the teachings of the bible. How is wife survived not being touched for five days of every cycle is beyond me.
It's actually an enjoyable read. By the end he seems to arrive at the conclusion that if the bible may have some unfollowable rules in modern day, (stoning, for instance), it does at the very least have gratitude going for it. Jacobs seems to find comfort in making time for gratitude, even after his year is complete. (He seems happy enough to leave a great deal many other decrees behind - his beard for one).
So gratitude can bring comfort even to the agnostic. And it can only bring positive feelings for those to whom it's expressed. Hmm...it's good for me, and good for others. I wonder what gratitude lines will look like on my face. It's time to find out! I'm going to think about everything for which I'm thankful, as much as possible. Maybe I can do this on my45-minute walk to work. That should be enough time.
No comments:
Post a Comment