But how beautiful, how breathtaking the blossoms of unexpected gratitude or praise. Thanks for swinging by and sharing your thoughts. I’m excited to learn from your blog of some potential work with Word Made Flesh, very excited indeed.

But what I love is to be thanked when I least expect it. When gratitude buds and bursts into bloom like the spring around us. Gratitude then leads to generosity, which ends up in a beautiful (not vicious) circle of praise.

And so today, I decided to write my own thank you card to a person who unexpectedly honoured me. He didn’t need to do it. In fact, he bowled me over with his generosity.

Genuine gratitude melts hardened hearts held captive by the Empire. Thanks Brian for this post.

(PS. I wish I could come to the event this week, but am not able.)

First, our definition of self in the west is individualized, and ideally autonomous. In historical cultures where the self is more communally defined gratitude becomes a survival skill.

Second, gifts improperly given can be effective means of exerting dominance. Sometimes we resent gifts because we rightly understand we’re being dominated or manipulated by the gift.

Third, gifts properly given are means of offering liberation and empowerment. Normally this would produce gratitude…except when it confronts our pride because we can’t accept the idea that we aren’t already free and powerful. Which brings us back to point #1…there’s something about this in the beatitudes methinks.

Speaking of money, that’s my three cents. : )

At times, I find myself showing resentment when gratitude is in order. Maybe it’s the brokenness of humanity amplified by manufactured desires, or maybe a fear of what it might mean to be truly known, as the walls of ingratitude fall down. I wish I could deconstruct what this all means, but I fear it would take too much time…

And we all know that time is money ;0)

But a world of abundance and giving (or grace, as it were) is another matter entirely, and in such a world the gift becomes the means of sincere ingratiation which binds us together in communities of love and acceptance.

Or, so I tend to believe. In my small opinion, the reason gifts and gratitude actually do stand a snowball’s chance in hell of remaking our culture is precicely because they are deeply relational social constructs when practiced in a meaningful way…and becasue they are exactly the counter-cultural salve we’re all so hungry for in the west.