The Highest Form of Thought
by Kelly Knight, Marketing Manager for The Good Table
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
Spiritual Touchstone
I’ve been thinking about this quote a lot, about the space that gratitude and wonder take up in my life. Last year, it was pretty hard to be grateful about anything. Even now, I struggle with feeling good about Thanksgiving, given its highly problematic origins.
That said, I think gratitude as a daily practice is highly undervalued. People who practice gratitude are happier than those who do not. Gratitude does a couple of things: it helps you focus less on the bad things that are happening, and more on the good ones. With time, it also conditions you to be more sensitive to seeing and appreciating the goodness in your life.
Now I recognize that there’s privilege in that — there may not be a lot of good happening in your life right now. Maybe you feel isolated, or lonely, or sad. Maybe your financial circumstances aren’t the best right now, or familial or friend relationships are strained. But here a couple things I’m going to offer you that maybe we can all be grateful for right now, despite our individual circumstances:
Rain came earlier this year. The October rains ended fire season a lot earlier than in years past, and we’re all breathing demonstrably cleaner air.
Vaccines are slowly rolling out across the world. My kid got her first shot last week, and that felt like hope.
So even in the midst of things being tough, I’m grateful for these things. There’s so much work to do in the world, and that feels overwhelming and hard more often than it doesn’t, but I’m holding on to hope and gratitude to help me get by.
I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. And if you have the funds, please consider donating to some indigenous-led organizations, like these:
Sogorea Te' Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led land trust that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people.
Native American Advised Endowment Fund enhances Native lifeways now and for future generations in New Mexico by promoting a spirit of sharing and supporting community initiatives. The Fund supports efforts that emphasize the commitment to Native core values: community, language, culture, and environment.