3 Ways Gratitude Can Promote Your Inner Growth And Contentment
November 22, 2021
Gratitude.
What a soul-building, positive practice.
Meister Eckhart, the somewhat controversial mystic and theologian of the 1300s said in his Sermon 27, “If a man [sic–he wrote 700 years ago] had no more to do with God than to be thankful, that would suffice.”
Those of you who work in the personal or spiritual development fields know the power of simple gratitude. Gratitude brings you back to the truth of your life. It gives you strength in difficult times. It keeps you grounded and in touch with reality. It reduces selfishness.
Have you embraced the ways your business shapes your capacity for thankfulness?
It’s Thanksgiving in the U.S. this week. So, with apologies to my international friends who don’t share the same holiday this Thursday, I’m reflecting this week on gratitude.
Spoiler alert . . . I’m in favor of it.
Learning about gratitude in the ups and downs of life
I’ve recently retired from parish ministry so I can spend more time writing copy and content for those of you in the personal and spiritual development arenas. I am also developing my own spirituality website. Retirement, though, has given me time to reflect on my years as an ordained Lutheran pastor. An ordained woman Lutheran pastor.
I am grateful for the obvious gifts:
- I got to work in the field of my passion!
- My faith has grown in profound ways.
- I was welcomed into some of the most sacred times of people’s lives.
- I was blessed to know some deeply faithful souls who taught me life lessons along the way.
- I have thousands of memories that put a smile on my face.
You know what else I’m thankful for? The challenges.
Back in 1980, I had what I understood to be a “call experience.” The Lutheran denomination I belong to (now called the ELCA) had just approved ordaining women 10 years earlier.
I’d missed that decision altogether. I was a microbiologist working in the business world calling on laboratories. I didn’t keep track of church decisions.
But, after a few years of struggling (and discovering the rules had changed and women could now be pastors) I entered seminary. After those 4 years of graduate school, I got a call to a terrific little parish in central Wisconsin and got ordained.
From the very beginning of my journey, I came up against resistance to my being a pastor. So many times the faithful have reminded me, “Women can’t be pastors.” I still hear it these days.
I am grateful for their resistance. And for my call to ordained ministry.
I had the choice to get bitter and resentful and entrenched in my self-righteous “false self.” I could have played the victim, picked on by the world.
I discovered that generally, most folks didn’t intend to be mean. They were just working out a long-held tradition about a woman’s place in a man’s world. And, certainly, they were reciting what they had been taught by the Church.
By the grace of our Lovely Lord, I was able to let their resistance wear down my arrogance and superficiality. My better, inner, real Self could emerge. My capacity to love blossomed.
You know the old image of water wearing down rock?
Yep. That’s what it’s been like. And I’m so-o grateful!
3 ways to savor your gratefulness today
In your work as a coach or spiritual guide, I hope you will take time this week to reflect on your journey.
- How have your career choices taught you and formed you? You’ve likely had previous careers before your current one. Include those in your pondering.
- What are some of the delights of being a life or high-performance or financial coach? Of being a spiritual guide?
- What difficulties in your life and career have worn down your “false self” so your best “true Self” could emerge?
We are blessed with our fascinating lives! I hope you take time to embrace and celebrate your experiences. Be grateful!
Carmala Aderman is a copywriter who writes primarily in the personal and spiritual development fields. She has learned to be grateful for her life experiences and, sometimes, can say a prayer of thankfulness even when her heart isn’t quite there yet.
If you’re looking for a copy and content writer to help you expand your business, reach out to her at carmala@carmalaaderman.com or on LinkedIn.