Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection: Gratitude

Florence Haas
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Palo Alto, CA

To me, gratitude is a feeling of deep appreciation for something either tangible, like a gift, or intangible, like a sunset. Sometimes we know who has given us something wonderful and we can thank them directly. Then sometimes it’s Nature that has given us a beautiful day, or scenery, or food — who do we thank? Yes I often say “Thank you God” for these things, with my Pantheistic concept of the divinity of the natural system. Two stories come to mind regarding each of these points.

A few years ago, just before Christmas, a floral delivery truck drove though our condo complex, and stopped for a few minutes. I didn’t look to see the florists’s name on the truck or who the lucky recipient was. Later I opened my door and was astonished to see a large beautiful poinsettia plant wrapped in red foil on my doorstep. There was no card or identifying marks to show who had sent the plant, or to whom, or the name of the florist. Who could have sent it — who should I thank? I was in a quandary. Finally it occurred to me that I would have to practice the art of receiving and simply enjoy the plant, which did make my Christmas season quite joyful. I was grateful, but unable to direct my thanks to anyone in particular.

Then this past Christmas, my son asked me what I’d like for a gift. I said I didn’t want any things [I’m impossible to shop for!], but did want a Meyer lemon tree planted on my patio — I’d buy the tree and my request is that he would dig the hole and plant the tree at his convenience. Well, he surprised me with a lovely baby lemon tree for Christmas, and last week he had time to come over to plant it. The day turned out warm and sunny, quite unlike the nasty weather we’ve been having. He did a beautiful job planting the little tree and did some other gardening on my patio, leaving it looking lovely. We worked together a couple hours enjoying each other, the warm sunshine, and gardening. He commented on how nice it was to work outside and get away from the office for a while. When he left, my patio looked beautiful. That evening my heart was totally full of gratitude for my fine son, the lovely day, the beauty of the lemon tree and the other plants. Yes, I thanked him very much for his kindness. Yet how can I ever thank God or Nature enough for my dear son, for lovely plants, and for beautiful California days? I just stayed present with my feeling of gratitude. It seems to me that gratitude is a feeling I need to just be with for a while because, like love, it can get almost overwhelming.

Sermon: Thank-You Notes by Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern