A Gift

So the gratitude thing isn't going so well. I wish I could say I've been faithfully recording my three items every night... but I haven't. But what I have been noticing more frequently are the other gifts in my life. That's sort of related to gratitude, right?

Here's what I've been noticing: Nature. It helps that I live on a ravine and the views out of the kitchen windows are trees and a creek. You think it would be easy to notice the nature. Not necessarily so. But I've been working with my friend Nancy Nicholas lately in creating a better space and practice of meditation. And she has made it easy. A master at helping to create that practice with ease because, trust me, it has never come easy. Next to "monkey mind" in the dictionary, is my picture. It's working! Not only in my meditation time but all other times too. Those animal totems are popping up everywhere. Lizards... herons... deer... Lots of messages. They bring me both peace and direction. And the mild winter we had didn't do any harm to my nature spirits, raising them immensely.

Helping others. This has been the greatest gift of all to me given my chosen line of work. I spend a lot of time working and concentrating on providing good service and being of help to others. But what I rarely do is notice how it affects me. Well, I've been noticing lately. And what I'm noticing is how much fulfillment it gives me to help others. Especially through my work. There are a ton of ways I can help someone in a job search and, let's face it, most (all?) of my clients come to me because they are seeking help. Pretty easy. More and more recently, I have been overcome by a feeling of goodwill when I am able to provide this support. It's quite a shot of oxygen.

A word about helping... we have an extremely interesting dissonance in our culture around the issue of helping. For the most part, we all like to help others, right? Yet asking for help is one of the most difficult things for us to do. So there are a bunch of people sitting around ready, willing- wanting-, and able to help... and a bunch of people who need help but are too afraid to ask. I try to impress upon clients, when they are feeling shy about asking for a reference or a networking favor, that people like to do things for other people. Enjoy that. Use that. Lately, my attempt at remedying this situation has been trying to anticipate when others might need help. (Are any of you picturing the overzealous Boy Scout trying to help the old lady across the street; the one she doesn't want to cross?) And offering help before being asked.

I want to get back to the gratitude but, for now, gifts might need to take the place of gratitude.