I’m wondering...is gratitude our response to something that we recognize as good?
Goodness is everywhere (despite the presence of evil — one of these being true doesn't cancel the other). But, we don't often feel thankful for it. It seems to me that the difference, between the moments that we are and are not grateful, has something to do with our recognition of it. When we recognize something good, being grateful seems to be a natural response.
This seems to be confirmed in a variety of contexts — the beauty of color say in things like trees in the Fall, a newborn baby, a sense of deep connection with other people, a gift from someone, the joy of good news. All are examples of things that take our recognition of them, of the goodness in them, in order to produce the response of gratitude.
Conversely, when we don't feel grateful, it isn't really the case that all those things don't still exist. It is more often the case that we're simply not in a position to recognize them, for one reason or another.
This gives me pause this week in particular, to wonder...what goodness exists in my life, in those I love, in the world around me, in the expanse of all reality?
