What If The Universe Was Grateful For YOU?
Yesterday in FIREDANCE, Meghan Lancaster said something game-changing. It had to do with her gratitude meditation. A shamanic instructor she is studying with suggested the following: "The universe is grateful that I am here."
I was gobsmacked. I'd never heard that before, and it is a MASSIVE reframe. Look. Gratitude for life is essential to faith. So "I am grateful for the universe" would be a surrendering to nature, seeing that everything that happens is part of that natural flow. Those who think this means that a cobra shouldn't fight back against a mongoose are naïve indeed. Terrible things happen. And the world is just what it is.
We have to make the most of our bit of it, and faith that our actions can and do have meaning is critical. And to do that, gratitude works like nothing else. When I felt trapped in Atlanta, I had to be grateful to BE there to see the way OUT. Don't blame me: I don't create these principles, I just notice them.
But what happens if you say "the universe is grateful that I am here"?
Well…first of all, you are attributing life and intention to what many consider a blind clash of forces and particles. As long as you understand you are thinking metaphorically, even this position works. And of course, some have a different way of looking at the world, and personifying natural forces is an ancient human practice, and often very useful: i.e. the "Gaia Hypothesis" asking us to expand our definitions of life and consciousness.
Let's move on. If the Universe were viewed as a living thing, why might it be GRATEFUL for me? Well…I'm grateful for the healthy cells and organs in my body. They haven't "consciousness" but they do fulfill functions. Can we reverse this? Why not?
That could lead us to the thought that "the universe is grateful for the component parts that help it fulfill its function."
Hmmm. Again, this is rather animistic, but we've already decided to look at things that way, for the purpose of a mental exercise, right?
My study of cosmology suggests that from a billionth of a second after the Big Bang, the universe has been a constant process of expansion and increasing complexity and interconnection. One doesn't have to stretch far to think the same of life, or human society.
IF one accepted that, then the universe would be "grateful" for me if I am helping human beings and nature to expand, grow, evolve, communicate. I am attempting to serve that higher reality.
What would happen if YOU attempted to live so that "the universe was grateful for you"? Would that simple shift in consciousness and intent increase your efficiency and effectiveness?
Just a thought…
Namaste
Steve
