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Welcome to our practice. Let’s begin…
We invite you to close your eyes and take one or two slow, deep breaths. Then open your eyes and read today’s quote by Antonio Machado: “Wanderer, there is no path, the path is made by walking.”
- Let the words in the quote sit with you for a moment or two.
- What do you notice? Become aware of any feelings, sensations, thoughts, or images that might arise.
- Then read the question: What path am I creating that others might follow?
Have you noticed that once something has been done once, twice, or more, it becomes easier to follow suit? Or how inspired we can be by those carving a path ahead of us with their words, actions, and moments? Or the fact that children — little sponges that they are — soak up the words, actions, prejudices, and passions of the adults around them, often mimicking them into adulthood? Like Gandhi, who said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Antonio Machado reminds us that there is no predetermined, fixed future or path. Rather, we are co-creating our world in the way we live our lives. With this in mind, what better time than now to ask ourselves: What path am I creating that others might follow?
Share your responses to any of the above in the reflection area below, write in a journal at home (or online), or simply let the quote and question accompany you throughout the day.
Notice how this exploration impacts you… and those around you.
We are liberated from following tracks already laid down or prescribed for us when our inner compass takes us into the tall fields and woods of our lives and when we trust that our heart will always take us through and home. Everyday Gratitude, and grateful living, connect us with values that help us to live our lives such that our imprint, our footprint, and our legacy will reflect the wholehearted truth of who we really are and what matters most deeply – for us and for others.
For further inspiration you might appreciate:
Faith – a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Be The Change You Want to See in The World – a Gandhi Rap by MC Yogi
Anthony Chavez: Continuing a Legacy of Inspiration – a blog by Anthony Chavez
Being One With Dying: Showing Up for the Great Matter – an excerpt from Joan Halifax Roshi’s book: Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death.
The image above is excerpted from Everyday Gratitude © by A Network for Grateful Living; book design and lettering by Alethea Morrison; watercolors and cover illustration © Katie Eberts, with additional watercolors by Clikchic Designs; used with permission from Storey Publishing.
Enjoy the full eight-day Everyday Gratitude practice series.
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I hope my path will be littered with acts of kindness – both large and small – both to humans and to our planet. My sister once bought me a framed photo which said “We will be known by the tracks we leave behind.” I hope that my tracks will be worth following by others – (hopefully, though, they will not emulate some of the “mistakes” I have made–but isn’t that how we learn and grow and make better choices?)
the path of kindness and compassion especially among those who are less fortunate.
The path I am creating that others may follow, is the path this site has created for me- ‘living gratefully’. Living gratefully has changed my life in such a profound and positive way! Thank-you for this 8 day practice and for the book “Everyday Gratitude” which is so beautiful and inspirational!
Peace, love and blessings, Sheila ??