Shining a light on gratitude

​Dr. Amishi Jha says we miss 50% of our lives because our minds wander. Even when we try to focus on the life in front of us, she says, our minds will eventually be pulled toward something outside of our present situation.

Reading a book, for example. She says we often get to the end of a page before we realize we weren’t paying attention to what we were reading. We began wondering about the text message we might be missing. Wondering about dinner. Wondering about the noise down the hall. The page runs out of words; this becomes our signal to re-focus.

But what if that page – and life – don’t come through with signals to re-focus?

One of the major problems with that, Dr Jha says, is that our minds often roam toward things we might be worried about – or anxious about – or sad about. When we let our minds wander, they often roam towards fear and anxiety, not peace.

She talks about this roaming mind as a broad, big picture spot-light focus. Our minds have evolved to always be looking out for things that might harm us. Looking right and left and up and down. Constant. But if we let our minds always look out for the things that might harm us, we never get to focus on the things that are blessing us.

Bringing that focus back in, and intentionally redirecting it toward a healthier focus – Dr. Jha calls this a flashlight focus.

I got to thinking about this in terms of Thanksgiving. How if we let our minds wander, they often don’t wander toward things we are thankful for. Often, giving thanks, requires us to pull out our flashlights. It requires us to walk through the woods of life and point that light at the beauty hiding in the thickets.

Because sometimes the things we have to be thankful for aren't hiding in plain sight.

It’s a timely message for me. There are many things that will be challenging about Thanksgiving this year. If I let my mind wander, it will wander towards things I might be missing out on, it will wander toward things that make me bitter and not thankful, it will wander towards all the obstacles in front of me and not all of them that I’ve overcome.

So tomorrow morning, I will get up bright and early with my flashlight. I will drive to a mountaintop and watch the sun rise out of the darkness. I wil plant myself in the place that brings me peace and dare my mind to wander off to places that rob me of it.

On that mountain, I’ll be reminded that our minds don’t have to wander. We don’t have to live in fear and sadness and anxiety. I’ll be reminded that sometimes we need to turn off the spotlight and whip out our flashlight - and point it..

In wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, let me also encourage you to arm yourselves with a flashlight tomorrow. If life starts feeling heavy – if you find your mind wandering away from peace – pull out that flashlight.

Point it at the things in life you are grateful for.

And at the end of that light, I pray you find peace.

A very Happy Thanksgiving all.