Stephanie Faison - On Gratitude

Stephanie Faison

I was speaking with our son last evening. We had each been skiing in places we love for their raw, natural beauty, and for the bounty of hills and trails (and for me, moguls!). I shared with him that on the last run of each day, I stood alone at the precipice of my favorite last run, and in the solitude and quiet, I thanked my mother and father for giving me the gift of skiing. I looked up and around, and said prayers of love and gratitude, knowing how incredibly lucky I am to know this feeling, and to honor the people that gave me such a gift. I feel uniquely blessed by their thoughtfulness and generosity, giving me the ability to sail through snow, a feeling of lightness and freedom that touches me deeply. I am fully myself when I’m on my skis.

This feeling of gratitude permeates my entire existence. I realize that I am more fortunate than perhaps I deserve to be (why me?), and surely luckier than countless others, having good health and abundance in my life. It drives me to look in directions all around me, to see what I can be doing to share this abundance with others.

Gratitude is the kind of feeling that can quickly turn to emotion, so full and so alive in me. I am grateful for every day, and often, many moments in that day: playing with my dogs, sitting by a burning fireplace, walking in fresh air. Life is full of beautiful moments that can become gifts if we only notice them. I am grateful to be alive, and hope that by sharing my life with others in all the ways that I do, I can bring gratitude and joy to the people around me.