Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi - Michael M. Hughes 2018

Gratitude
Self-Care and Resilience

It’s easy to lose sight of how fortunate we are. We would not be here, right now, riding the edge of time, if our parents hadn’t created us, and they wouldn’t have existed had it not been for a chain of love and sexual attraction stretching back to Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago. And none of them would have existed if our mother planet hadn’t given rise to microbial life, which evolved into the incredible diversity of the billions of organisms surrounding us. Earth would not exist if it were not for the beneficial fires of the sun, water carried from deep space by comets, and chemical elements forged in stellar reactors.

We are stardust, yet it’s so hard to remember that.

Aim to make expressing gratitude an everyday practice, even when you’re feeling despair. If you can’t feel gratitude to the universe or a deity, go out of your way to be gracious to the people around you, from your spouse to the guy behind the counter at a gas station.

There is a reason giving thanks is universal in spiritual traditions. It doesn’t just provide spiritual benefits and connections, it has proven positive physical effects, too.