Life is sometimes filled with little irritations. This morning has been one of those times for me. Meditating with the barking dogs in my neighborhood and beeping sounds coming from some unknown place, little irritations. I can be drawn to my cell phone even when it is on silent. Sometimes, I lack discipline. These little irritations mean nothing in the scope of all the bigger tings going on in our world and in the lives of some of my dearest and nearest friends. Still, I can find myself getting annoyed and wishing for peace in any given moment.

Remember the idea of the wigglers at a basketball game planted to distract the player from making the perfect shot? A disciplined athlete does not let wigglers ruin his game. Little irritations are just like wigglers. I’m not going to let these wigglers ruin my game of peace.  I turn to what I know.

First of all I congratulate myself on even being conscious that I am irritated. I do not deny what I am feeling. However, I do ask myself if this feeling serves me.  I give thanks for where I am right here and right now. I listen and within the noise, I can still hear the silence beneath and beyond it if I really listen with the intent to hear and find peace. I hear all the sounds of life and I am alive. I am all the sounds. I stop trying to resist the noise and give thanks instead.

What I’ve found is gratitude is the one energy that heals everything. Let’s just call it Vitamin G. When I do not know what to do with my feelings, if I move into a state of gratitude, everything shifts. It’s easy to do, too. Now I know why the mystic Meister Eckart said, “If all we were ever to say was thank you that would be enough.” That might not be the direct quote, but you get the gist.

Gratitude is not for something specific. It is for the mere joy of being alive and being able to feel and experience all of life. Gratitude is an energy that allows me to receive all the blessings of every moment. It brings my mind and heart into coherence. Little irritations fade away into the nothingness from which they came.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita