For years I have tried to participate in the Facebook challenge to type something I am thankful for every day in the month of November. Typically in October, to save me time, I make a list of 30 things, people, experiences that have brought me joy or to whom I am thankful. Then I can easily, without even thinking, check off my list each day and add each item to my profile page.
This year, as I've been on a journey of slowing down and embodying my life, I have taken the "Be Thankful" booklet I created last year and paired it with a version of the spiritual practice of Examen.
Examen. The spiritual practice of Examen directs us to come to the end of our day and examen the ways we have partnered with Jesus, missed an opportunity to partner with Jesus, or did our own thing entirely. It is a chance to observe our day, giving ourselves permission to confess those things we did or didn't do. This practice is for the purpose of becoming more aware and attentive for God's activity with us and provides us a chance to realign ourselves in Christ with God before heading to bed. Each day, Examen helps us become a little more like Jesus. (This is a great way to prepare for sleep.)
This year, my challenge to myself (and others) is to put these two practices together in a way that helps us become more aware of the presence of God and the many gifts of our life to which we can be thankful.
Here's how this works: At the end of our day, examen our day, thinking back on what has occurred to which we can be thankful. I may have run into a friend I haven't seen, had an encounter with a stranger, tasted a delicious dish, smelled a fragrant flower, heard a unique piece of music, or seen a stunning bright orange leaf! The possibilities are endless! The challenge is to be aware of those things that catch our senses and quicken our hearts. What are the things that make us stop in the middle of our routine? What brings us joy?
For example, I could easily add my daughter Anna's name to my Facebook Challenge. Or...I can wait and watch for when we experience life together - meeting up for dinner, playing a game together, or sharing a croissant. Now writing Anna's name (and what we did together) in my book on that day is an embodied thankfulness, and not just a mental activity.
As we take up this challenge to daily examen our lives, we will discover that we become more awake during the day to the things, people, and experiences that can actually fill us with joy and gratitude - if we have eyes to see them.
A Note When Darkness Surrounds Us. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the apostle Paul writes, "...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus..." Paul is not saying to give thanks for our circumstances, but in the midst of them. It is a human experience to have days in which we are at a loss for even one reason to be grateful. In the middle of loss (of a job, a loved one, identity), cancer treatment, or negative health diagnosis, for example, little gifts of God's goodness are still all around us, they just may be harder to see in the midst of our darkness. If we can learn to look for them (they may be small!) and be grateful, we will experience an enfolding of the peace of God and joy in the Spirit we didn't think was possible in our situation. Being grateful is food for our souls and an assault against the voices that attempt to diminish our belovedness and silence us into spaces of isolation and despair.
May this month's thankfulness challenge open our eyes to the many, many blessings in our lives as we become more aware of the Spirit's daily interactions with us and become people of thankfulness.
Peace.
"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever."
P.S. The booklet is simply a place for us to keep a journal of our thankfulness. I have a few directions and scriptures to ponder, but you can do this challenge in your own journal without needing my particular booklet!
