Set aside time to express gratitude

The poet Mary Oliver has, more than once, expressed the thought that there is simply no way for us to adequately express our gratitude for the gifts we are given.
That may seem a difficult idea to get your arms around.
When we’re mired in the mundane hassles of everyday life, when we’re still trying to get the sour taste of nasty politics out of our mouths and ears, when today seems bleak and tomorrow even worse, the gifts we are given may be hard to find.
But Mary Oliver finds them, and with her words she reminds us that gratitude — thankfulness — should be our first priority.
In her 80s now, Oliver has published more than a dozen books and is arguably the most popular poet in America today.
And she still hasn’t lost her voice, because she still hasn’t lost her sense of gratitude, her belief that thankfulness is the best way to embrace the world.
Most days, when she is able, she still sets out into the natural world, seeking simply to engage with it, to delight in it, to wonder at its wonders.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
But how many of us take the time to actually do that? How many of us are willing to set aside our agendas, our rhetoric, our trivial commitments to slow down and engage and allow awe into our lives?
That’s actually a pretty good phrase: “Allow awe into your life.”
It’s not as good as the poetry of a master, but it makes the point.
Thursday is supposed to be about giving thanks, but before we give thanks — Mary would remind us — we really need to acknowledge the gifts we are given: Sunlight on the grass, the sound of the birds in the bush, the smell of wet soil, high clouds on a clear November afternoon.
Take a moment Thursday to try to do just that. You don’t need to be a poet to do it.
But if you do, chances are you’ll agree with Mary Oliver that there’s no way we can adequately express our gratitude for the gifts we have been given. — J.R.