During the pandemic, we are being deprived of many of the elements of our lives that bring us joy.
It’s easy to start to feel resentful about this.
We can counteract our sense of deprivation by cultivating our ability to be grateful for the nourishment that we have received.
By actively practicing gratitude for the ways in which we have been nourished, we can create a virtuous circle through which we begin to feel even more nourished.
The more that we can actively experience this sense of being nourished, the better our state of being will feel. And when when we experience life in a beautiful state, we feel more capable of helping ourselves and more capable of helping others.
One way that some people practice actively appreciating nourishment is by saying grace before a meal. But for people who don’t self-identify as religious, the practice of grace can feel at least somewhat disconnecting. Saying grace can feel pious.
Perhaps we are missing out by dismissing the practice of grace because of our cynicism towards piousness. We may be blocking ourselves off from an easy way of habitually cultivating gratitude for a part of our daily nourishment.
But there are also other opportunities to be grateful for nourishment.
Nourishment extends far beyond food. We are nourished by love, by connection, by care. We are nourished when we feel taken care of, supported, encouraged. We are nourished when we feel ready to exist.
When we notice that something someone else did (or perhaps, something we did) is helping to support our life, in any form, we can pause for just a moment and be grateful. We can do this at any time, in any moment. It doesn’t have to be before a meal.
We can always pause and give thanks for the kindness that we have been shown. This is a way for us to actively appreciate that we are being nourished, throughout our days and throughout our life.