If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart
This quote really got me thinking. People generally pray for something. And we generally pray for somebody, ourselves or our loved ones. We might ask for good health for ourselves or our family members, for food and shelter, for love, for an end to suffering, for miracles, for a job, or simply for strength or wisdom. So it is an interesting twist to think of prayer instead as just being grateful for what is.
These inspiring words come from Meister (or Master) Eckhart, a Dominican friar from Germany who preached his philosophy and mystical interpretation of the Bible in the 13th century. Here’s an interesting piece of trivia that you may not have known before… The modern day philosopher Eckhart Tolle (born Ulrich Leonard Tolle), now famous for his best-selling books The Power of Now and The New Earth, changed his first name in acknowledgement of the influence of Master Eckhart on his thinking.
This quote seemed timely having just celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday.When Thanksgiving arrives each year, just as the number of turkeys, stuffing mixes, green beans, and cranberries seem to grow exponentially, so do the conversations about gratitude. It is perhaps why it is one of everyone’s favorite holidays. The lucky ones among us feast together on wonderful food, surrounded by friends and family, and say thanks for life, for health, and for one another. No wonder we usually feel so happy!
Although Thanksgiving as a national holiday is a specifically American and Canadian tradition, it is actually celebrated all over the globe by many different names and types of rituals. Thanksgiving is the North American version of ancient harvest celebrations that have taken place for thousands of years wherever crops were reaped and sowed. Think of the Festival of the Harvest Moon in China or the yam festival in Ghana, Africa, or the Chu Suk in Korea. Expressing thanks is a universal urge and a human strength that can be cultivated, not just at Thanksgiving but on any day.
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