Feeling gratitude in the song of Hazinu.
In this week's Torah portion,
Hazinu,
Moses starts his farewell as the people's leader with a song.
Just as he sang a song of thanks and praise at the Red Sea after the children of Israel were led out of Egypt,
So he concludes his leadership with a song.
The song is a history of the people of Israel and lessons that can be learned from all their experiences.
He appeals to them to listen to these lessons,
Such as keeping their faith and recognizing all that God has done for them.
The imagery is beautiful.
There's an eagle that stirs up her nest and hovers over her young and spreads her wings,
Taking them.
God's care for Israel is likened to a mother eagle who cares for her young.
But shortly after we read that Israel becomes fat and ungrateful,
We forgot the one who brought us into this world.
So life was good and plenty in the land and we had what we needed.
When things are difficult,
It's easier to feel vulnerable and understand that what we have might not come only from us.
We might be more likely to reach out,
To ask for help or cry.
When things are going well,
We might forget that not all we have comes from us.
We're part of a family,
A neighborhood and community and a bigger world.
If we have faith,
We believe that the source of good is outside of us from God.
We're reminded to always remember this and never become too full of ourselves.
One way to do this is to cultivate a gratitude practice.
Gratitude allows us to notice our blessings and find balance amid life's difficulties.
And mindfulness helps us handle tough times with acceptance and compassion.
Gratitude is the intentional practice of noticing the good in your life.
It relates to anything that makes you feel grateful,
Fortunate or blessed.
Some examples of gratitude could be for family,
Friends,
Community,
Health,
Home,
Job,
Pets or personal belongings.
While gratitude may help you keep a balanced perspective about life,
Especially when things are difficult or falling apart,
It's not a cure-all.
Gratitude can't take away the sting of life's challenges like job loss,
Heartbreak or the death of a loved one.
Sometimes painful emotions must be felt.
You must feel to heal.
While it may be tempting to try and cover up pain through gratitude,
This may lead to unhealthy ways of coping through denial that negative events are taking place.
Things are not all sweetness and light.
And that's okay.
Ups and downs are part of life.
When you combine gratitude and mindfulness,
It allows you to acknowledge the blessings in your everyday life and also sit with whatever you're experiencing right now in the present moment.
During hard times,
A gratitude and mindfulness practice may help keep your perspective balanced.
For example,
If you break up with your partner,
It can help you be non-judgmental about the pain you feel or maybe find positive takeaways from the experience or prevent yourself from ruminating about what happened.
With practice,
It might become easier to gain more control over your mindset.
If you can,
Try to work on it a little bit each day,
One exercise at a time.
There are many ways to become more sensitive to the experience of gratitude and mindfulness.
Here are some mindfulness gratitude exercises to get you started.
The first one is called Gratitude Bell.
Set a daily alarm and when it goes off,
Pay attention to your senses,
What you see,
Smell,
Taste,
Touch,
Hear,
And then think of a few things that you're grateful for.
Another one is a gratitude journal.
Start each entry by noticing where you are and how you feel.
Next,
List two to five things that you feel grateful for.
You can also start a mindfulness meditation practice.
You can find a guided meditation through one of the many available apps like Insight Timer.
Oyinda Lagunju,
A health,
Well-being,
And mindfulness author,
Suggests this gratitude meditation.
So,
Start by finding a comfortable seat and a place that you won't be disturbed.
Your eyes can either be closed or open,
Focusing on a spot in front of you,
And sitting comfortably and with a straight spine,
Allowing your body to settle.
Now,
Take a few breaths.
You don't need to control the breath.
Let it move in and out naturally.
Allow yourself to relax and let go of any tension or stress that might be stored in your body.
Feeling a sense of relaxed alertness,
Grounded,
Yet present.
And take a moment to appreciate how easy it is for most of us to breathe.
And noticing your current state of mind.
How are you feeling right now?
What's your mood like?
Take a moment to notice without judging if something's good or bad.
Start to imagine what you have in your life to be grateful for.
You can start by feeling gratitude for the people and circumstances that led you to this moment right now.
It could be your parents or grandparents or other family members,
Maybe friends,
Or anyone who's made a difference in your life.
So take a moment to imagine that person and offer some gratitude.
And now offer gratitude for the opportunities you've had in your life.
Education,
Travel,
Work experience.
Consider the health of your mind and your body.
Offering gratitude for your health and your body and all your body does for you.
Think of a part of your body that you're grateful for.
Consider gratitude for the people in your life.
Offering gratitude to your immediate family,
Extended family,
Maybe coworkers or friends,
Or anyone that's helped you grow into the person you are.
And now offer some gratitude to the world around you for water and food.
The air that you breathe every single day.
And now think of anything else that you feel gratitude for.
Anything else that comes to mind.
Think of and see clearly in your mind specific things which you're grateful for.
And each time something comes up,
Let this gratitude fill your heart and maybe say thank you quietly.
Examples could be a certain place you appreciate.
So imagining how it sounds,
How it smells maybe,
Or maybe a specific food you like or a meal.
Imagining how it would smell and taste.
Perhaps a pet.
Imagine them greeting you.
Observe how playful they are.
So just taking another moment to think of anything else you want to offer gratitude for.
And feel free to continue to focus on this quality of gratitude for a few more moments.
Really let it sink in.
When you're ready,
At your own pace,
Slowly open your eyes and come back into the room.
And consider expressing your appreciation for the person that you chose in this practice.
Letting them know that you're grateful for them.
Maybe you could send them a text or an email.
Phone call.
And then notice how this expression of gratitude affects you.
Moshe was grateful for all he was able to do and accepting that at the end he would not live to see the completion of his life's work and go with the people into Israel.
May we be grateful for all that we have and accepting of what we don't have yet.
Thanks for listening.
Tune in next week.
