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The Importance of Gratitude

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in service to life and relationality

The Importance of Gratitude

by Audrey E. Kitagawa

The following essay on gratitude is drawn from Audrey Kitagawa’s March 10, 2023 presentation at the Commission for the Study of Women (CSW) Interfaith Service of Remembrance and Gratitude

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Thank you, everyone for joining in this 9th annual interfaith Service of Remembrance and Gratitude. During the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women, this particular program is designed to remember the people who touched our lives, moved our hearts, and helped us find solace and courage in our moments of vulnerability. We remember individuals who have left an indelible imprint upon us and inspired us in ways that were meaningful and memorable.

We remember those who brought love, life experiences, and life lessons to us, even as some of those life lessons may have been painful to endure at the time. In this way too, we acknowledge that all who enter upon our journey of life are the bearers of gifts. In due time, we come to appreciate them more deeply, people who provide different perspectives and a deeper understanding of ourselves and life itself.

We appreciate this moment in time for the opportunity to express our gratitude to all of these people who touched us. Though some have passed on, yet do they continue to live on in our hearts.

May this service of Gratitude also deepen our commitment to live life with greater appreciation for all of those who have helped us along the way. May we not take anyone for granted, because each person played an important role in our development.

Photo: Pixabay

May we also remember and thank the Divine Creator for all of the sacred gifts given to us to sustain our lives here: for our Mother Earth, our one home, that has everything we need to not only survive but to flourish. We thank Divine Creator for the air we breathe, the water we drink, for the rainforests that provide us with oxygen and that are home to Indigenous People, the guardians of the rainforests. We are thankful for the bounty and beauty of flowers, animals, and plants, for oceans that are filled with myriad life forms, all playing an important role in the totality of our interconnected lives, and that together, create our wholeness.

Many universities now, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of California at Berkeley, and others, have spent time researching what works well in life. They have discovered the many positive effects in one’s sense of well-being that comes through gratitude. Their studies show that people who are grateful are happier and have higher self-esteem. A Harvard study notes that gratitude is “strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal better with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

The world’s religious and spiritual traditions know the importance of gratitude and encourage the cultivation and nurturing of this important value. We find countless messages about gratitude in the Bible. In the Muslim tradition, Ramadan is a month of gratitude with fasting and prayer, culminating in charity, where giving is a manifestation of remembrance of those in need and honors the tradition of sharing. Hindus, Buddhists, and other Eastern religions express gratitude in daily acts of selfless service. The foundation of Judaism is gratitude. The Hebrew word, Yehudi, is a form of the Hebrew word for thank you.

Photo: Wikimedia

In religious cultures, giving thanks is not a superficial statement – it is carefully offered and demonstrated in specific actions. For example, in addition to being a respectful and reverential salutation, “pranam” – placing one’s hands together in front of the heart and bowing – is a gesture of humility and thanks. Incense is lit in several religious traditions as an offering, a sign of reverence, and an expression of gratitude.

But gratitude is not limited to religious rituals – the reverent act of gratitude can be part of all our daily lives. Through expressions and actions of gratitude, we can actualize the teachings of the great faith traditions so that our daily lives become forms of prayer in action.

No matter what life’s situation may be, let us be in grateful and in constant remembrance of the Divine Love and bountiful gifts that are already given to us. And may words of thanksgiving always be writ firmly upon our lips and within our hearts every moment that we live. Thank you.

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References



Header Photo: Pxfuel