Ashes of Gratitude

 

Grateful words whispered

while incense burns

leaving behind ashes of gratitude

in a small clay urn

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2016

 

For the past several years, I’ve had the morning practice of lighting an incense match and using those few moments while the match burns to thank God for all of the blessings in my life.  Some days, when life is being difficult, it can be a bit of a struggle to come up with things, and I always want to be authentic and real.  But even in the midst of difficulty, there are still things to be grateful for…  Even if it’s just simply being thankful for a nose that can smell the sweet aroma of the incense –  mine is vanilla scented so it smells pretty yummy.  🙂

Sometimes the simplest of things can bring us great pleasure when we’re mindful of them.  The simple pleasures of all we can experience through our five senses – see, smell, touch, taste, and hear, are often easily taken for granted, or go unnoticed, especially when many today are moving at warp speed through life, or going through terrible difficulties.  But it pays to slow down, and/or to shift our focus off our difficulties and onto all that we have to be grateful for.  Not in denial of life’s sometimes difficult circumstances, but in awareness that life in itself is a gift, regardless of our circumstances.   I know that may sound cliche, but I don’t say it lightly.

Ashes are often thought of as something negative, but when I look at my little clay bowl of ashes sitting on the table beside me, I see a huge reminder of all the thousands of things I have to be grateful for.  My ashes of gratitude.

 

Wishing all of you much happiness today, and as always…

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿