I left my apartment this morning with luggage, as I’m headed out of town for a training. There was a storm yesterday, so the intersections are filled with dirty snow and cabs are at a minimum, as everyone needs a way to get from here to there out of the cold. When I finally found a cab, after pulling my luggage along for many blocks, I was extremely grateful. I felt the same way last night when, during the snowstorm, I found a much-needed cab – one among only a few on the road by late evening. I thanked the driver last night, for being willing to be on the streets in such awful weather. He was surprised to be thanked, and the interaction got me to thinking. I was in the same state of mind this morning, as I finally sat in the back of a warm cab, my luggage safely tucked in the trunk, headed across town to my office.

This theme has been in the foreground of my awareness for a couple of weeks now, and I’m not sure why, except to note that I recognize – many times a day – that there is no way for us all to be here together without the help of everyone. When the heat in my office building acted up a couple of weeks ago, it took someone to come and make it right. When the buzzer in my office went bonkers one day, it was only through the help of the electrician that things worked out. When I was on a subway train last week, going many blocks to an appointment in a short amount of time, I was grateful for the train driver and conductor. Then, there are the people who make sure water gets to the city, food to the grocery stores, that we don’t live in mountains of trash.

At every turn, every day, I find myself bumping into gratitude for someone’s service to my everyday life. Not to be too dramatic about it, we simply couldn’t do life as we know it without the contributions of every one of us, each in our own ways, to make it all work.

And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to pay attention to all the sources of service people bring into your life. In every single moment of your day, you receive the benefit of the work, effort, and contributions of other people. Even when you sleep, your bed, sheets, pillows, blankets, the floor under your bed – everything involved comes to you only because of the efforts and participation of other people (not to mention the resources those people use to make their contributions).

As you engage in this particular gratitude practice and actively acknowledge the impact of the contributions of others in your life, notice your psychological and physical experience. What do you notice, especially, in the area of your heart? Do you experience an opening in your chest, or do you tighten when you recognize how dependent you (and all of us) are on everyone around you? Remember that mixed feelings are inevitable most of the time, so please make room for any that emerge as you play with this practice.

I also invite you to explore what it’s like to actively thank people who add to the quality of your life, offering appreciation for the time they take to do their job. It doesn’t cost a lot to let someone know that their contribution has helped you, and it can be a great gift to them. As you play with this, notice how it impacts the quality of your psychological experience in any given day. Also, notice what it’s like when you do a lot of “thanking” in a given day, as compared to days when you don’t thank anyone for anything, or you do it in a limited way.

As with all the experiments, be sure to have curiosity as your closest companion. Remember, the intention in working with being more consciously aware is simply to be here – to notice what’s moving through you and how you respond, moment to moment. When you can do this, you can choose more actively how you want to move through your world.