The Embodiment of Gratitude by Kit Miller

During our Gandhi Institute annual board meeting last week, we reflected on how well we embody the spirit of nonviolence in our thoughts, words and deeds.  We re-committed to the idea that from our mission to educate, embody and serve, embodiment is the stand-out virtue to cultivate!

One aspect of embodiment is a continued focus on celebration and gratitude.  When I was in the early days of learning Nonviolent Communication, I asked the originator of that work, Marshall Rosenberg, how he developed the capacity to become more present to his own life.  He smiled and pulled out a little book from his pocket (now perhaps he would pull out a smart phone!) and showed me his gratitude log. “This is how I do it still,” he said.  “whenever I have a  free moment I jot down what I am grateful for.”

That practice has supported me to train my attention on the ongoing flow of gifts I can tend to take for granted: blue skies and birdsong as I type in this moment, a good night of sleep, food, help from colleagues, friends, neighbors and family that flows in all of the time.  Gratitude of this kind balances tendencies I have to overwork, and to worry about the future because it invites me to awareness of what is in front of me.  It helps me to stay open and curious that I don’t know what my most important act of the day will be!  Maybe it will be the thing I predict (a meeting or writing something like this).  Maybe it will be stopping to notice and connect with someone, especially when I notice distress, instead of just walking by.

Paul Chappell, who is visiting the  Gandhi Institute later this week, added to my understanding of the importance of celebration and gratitude through his recent book Peaceful Revolution by noting that this  practice also leads to increased sense of stewardship.  More appreciation of my body helps me want to take better care of myself. The same is true for my relationships, and for the earth itself.

Invite friends and family to hear Paul speak in Rochester this Friday, Mar 23 7:30 pm- FREE! Donations gratefuly accepted.  C-span will record this talk.

http://bethechangerochester.org/ai1ec_event/paul-chappell-lecture/?instance_id=1

Welcome

Dear Friends,
I am delighted to launch this blog on behalf of the MK Gandhi Institute, to extend our conversations to include you.

This extraordinary technology gifts us with the ability to face some truths together, truths about our time that are so daunting that they need to be borne and witnessed in community, however virtual. In the US, a truth we need to face is the growing likelihood that our commitment to military expansion can no longer be halted by the democratic process. Consequently, poverty and the violence that accompanies it is growing in many communities. Pressing issues of structual injustice go unacknowledged. Meanwhile, climate change is accelerating, no matter how much it is ignored in the media and by most leaders.

In this blog you will see posts from myself and other Gandhi staff. We hope you will accompany us as we look back to nonviolent leaders and movements for inspiration–the big guys like Gandhi and King as well as extraordinary heroes who are more obscure, such as Abdul Ghaffar Khan– and as we look forward, interpreting this rich legacy for its applicability to our lives, work and projects.

We need to know others are with us, arm in arm, to give us courage to gaze at the daunting issues of our day. If this blog offers a sense of community or shared values or inspiration to you, let us know. If we miss the mark, let us know. We dedicate the merit of this blog to each of you reading these words, searching for answers.

in peace and hope,
Kit Miller