We'd Like You to Know...

There is something we’d like you to know, but before we get to that, let’s chat a bit about this week’s practice.

This week we return to the practice of Gratitude.  In this practice, we intentionally take stock of all the goodness in our lives, all that we have to be grateful for.  We pause to acknowledge it, and then we steep ourselves in a sense of good fortune, a sense of “needs met”, letting it soak into us, infusing every cell in our body, "settling into it and letting it settle into us” to borrow a phrase from Rick Hanson.  When we have a sense of “needs met”, we are empowered to act with kindness and generosity toward others, which in turn, makes us and others feel good.  Even the people who see us acting with kindness are then inspired to act with kindness themselves.  

Instead of just talking about the practice, let’s take a moment to pause together right now, and bring to mind someone to whom we each feel grateful - maybe it's for an act of kindness large or small, or simply because they accept us for who we are, or make us laugh.  

Bringing that person to mind, resting in that sense of gratitude…..

Ahhhhh.  

This week, in addition to engaging in the formal practice of gratitude, we invite you to carry the practice into your engaged life by thanking people.  Maybe you do this by looking a sales clerk in the eye and thanking them.  Maybe it’s a quick text to a friend to let them know you’re grateful for the role they play in your life, or maybe, just maybe, you revive the lost art of writing an actual Thank You letter to someone for including you in a family dinner they hosted, or for life lessons that they have taught you.  The actual expression of gratitude has been shown to have benefits even beyond those of pausing to rest in a sense of plenty.  It has been shown to strengthen the communal bond between the thanker and the thanked.

So back to what we wanted to tell you….

We at CMP are resting in a felt sense of gratitude toward all of YOU CMP community members.  You inspire us with the open-heartedness you show up with every week, with your words of support for CMP’s mission, with the way you arrange the chairs and keep widening the circle when all seats are taken, with your vulnerability when you share challenges in your life or your practice, when you turn to a first-timer to welcome them and say “don’t worry, just smile when your mind wanders”, with the way you help to create a sense of community and a safe space for growing, learning, healing, resting, thriving, sharing and supporting.

We want to say “Thank You”.  

Your Support Is Greatly Appreciated
CMP is a 501c3 nonprofit. All of our weekly sessions are free and open to the public, but donations are essential to our sustainability. Checks, cash and credit cards are accepted and donations are tax deductible.  Checks can be given to facilitators at our weekly sits or mailed to:

Community Mindfulness Project
P.O. Box 1713
New Canaan, CT 06840.
Credit card donations are accepted on our website: CommunityMindfulnessProject.org.
 

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We thank you!

May all beings without exceptions rest in a sense of plenty and feel the joy of expressing gratitude,

Your friends at CMP