Today, and in the middle of this Holiday week, I’m continuing an examination of gratitude.

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"In prayer itself there is no fixed order, but both a primary impulse and the experience of praying people show us that the first stage may be thanksgiving ..." ~George Buttrick, excerpted from Devotional Classics, a Renovaré resource for spiritual renewal.

The world around us thrashes forward in its nervous, unending, apocalyptic act of striving. It struggles for more, pushes the people to engage in that same struggle.

More material.

More relevance.

More power.

More, more, more than our neighbor.

See how we're pushed to pursue and achieve? See how we strive for entitlements? You deserve a better job. You deserve higher pay. You need a more luxurious SUV, house, bed, electric toothbrush. This world is a noisy dope dealer, a pusher of discontentment. This discontentment is society's primary weapon of warfare; it's what gets you to trade hard-earned capital for things you don't need.

In our hunt for more, we are dogs on a leash, horses led by a bit. Freedom, I think, is found in the practice of contentment. Need proof? Listen to the sages.

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” ~Socrates

“I have learned to be with those I like is enough.” ~Walt Whitman

"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little." ~Paul

True contentment begins with the recognition that we have everything we need. That everything—the house, spouse, food, and even the old electric toothbrush—is a gift. If we recognized this, shouldn't our prayers turn first to gratitude? Shouldn’t it be the first movement of our prayers?

A Thanksgiving Week Practice:

1. Get alone. Construct a sanctuary of silence. Practice releasing the distractions, then ask yourself, “Where does discontentment and ingratitude show up in my life?”

2. After you've identified the sources of discontent, make a list of the simple gifts of your life. (Yes, write these out on a slip of paper.) Consider the people you have, the material possessions you own, the food you’ve been given. Consider the lagniappe too.

3. Enter into a simple prayer of gratitude for the gifts. Consider sharing the list with your family members or friends.

A Word About These Posts

Over the next year, I’m creating a series of connected pieces, each of which will build on the previous posts. It’s a sober stream of consciousness that began with my Waking series. Where will it go? You’ll have to follow along to find out. So, if you’re not already signed up to receive my daily emails, you know what to do. (And while you’re here, consider picking up my books, Coming Clean and The Book of Waking Up.)