Rather than question whether I am of benefit to the world or not, I begin to understand in the morning breeze how I am given infinitely from the world.
*"Morning." In Awaken to Your True Self: The Shin Buddhist Way of Life.
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Walking the Way, one sees that, finally, life is not first about what one can get, but that one is being given to.
Then, gratitude is not seen as a mandate but as a natural response from the blessedness.
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Gratitude and blessedness, or being blessed, or not separate. The mind separates this one action. Really, there is no separation.
Being blessed means blessedness. Being blessed implies a passivity. Yet, this passivity arises from action. As there is no separation between gratitude and blessedness, there is no separation between your acting and your being acted upon. These are one.
The Chinese classic Tao Te Ching speaks of the wise way being like a valley. We act to become like a valley. In this humble posture, we receive, like waters flow downward into the valley openness. The valley does not get the waters. The waters are given. So, the way of wisdom, amid cultures socialized to a life of persistent, unrelenting acquisitiveness.
Sometimes, we do not see how blessed we are. We can forget, focusing on what we do not have or would like to have. A daily practice of blessing remembrance can help. A good time for this is before going to sleep at night. You can offer thanks, silently or audibly, as you invite remembrance of the blessings of the day. Some will offer thanks to God. But it is okay just to say "Thanks" or "Thank you." It is okay not to say thanks at all, but simply be aware with gratitude in your heart. Gratitude itself is giving thanks.
