Ā
Gratitude
HUMILITY
POWERFUL POWERLESSNESS
Here's the secret no one tells you: gratitude is hard because it requires humility. You must you admit you didn't get here alone. You must acknowledge gifts you didn't earn. It demands you acknowledge the Divine, who gave you everything, including your ability to work hard and "make it on your own."
The grateful man knows what's been given can be taken away. Gratitude forces you to face your smallness, and that ill fortune may follow good.
For most men, it's easier to reject gratitude than to admit they've been given unearned giftsā€”and their power to control the world is far smaller than they'd like to believe.
To be grateful is to see clearly, to recognize the web of effort, chance, and grace that brought you here. It is the soldier rememberingthe comrade who sacrificed for him. It is the leader honoring the team who made his vision possible. It is the man pausing to notice the beauty of a sunrise he didn't create.
Abraham Lincoln, in the depths of war, declared a national day of Thanksgiving.
He understood even in suffering, there are gifts worth acknowledging. Viktor Frankl, in the hell of a concentration camp, found gratitude in kindnesses as small as a crust of bread.
Gratitude, and the humility that allows it, didn't make these men weaker; it gave them strength to endure.
Questions for reflection:
1. What is one thing today that you can acknowledge was given to you, and that you can genuinely feel gratitude for?
2. How does pride or self-reliance block you from acknowledging the gifts in your life?
3. How could a gratitude practice change the way you see the world?
Your masculine "reps" for today:
- Reflect on one question from the card.
- Write three things you have that were a gift to you from the universe. Be grateful.
- Bonus: Contact one person today who made a difference in your life and tell them so.
Did you getĀ something from today's card? We'd love to hear it. Email us at [email protected] ā€” we read every one.
Forge Strength. Daily.
