Walking through Central Park this morning, I noticed that – as has been true for many days now – overnight someone did a lot of work cleaning up downed trees from a recent storm.  Each time I see the effects of this invisible work, it reminds me of how grateful I am for all the people who offer their services behind the scenes to make my current quality of life possible.

For example, I think of the many people who collect garbage, sort mail, take care of the water supply and the pipes that bring water into my home, those who work in the many jobs related to supplying electricity, food in the grocery store, and on and on.  When I remember how many people’s efforts afford me the lifestyle I have, my gratitude expands and I again feel the immediacy of how inescapably interdependent we are – how much we need each other to make our lives work.  I also think of how it would be impossible to do this alone.

For this week’s experiment, I invite you, as I have in the past, to take some time each day to become even more aware of all the sources of support in your life.  They are there, everywhere you look.  Choose one or two sources of support, working for you behind the scenes, and spend a little time imagining all the people involved, all their hours of work on behalf of the rest of us.  The next time you notice garbage trucks going by, take a moment to send silent thanks to the people working on those trucks.  They keep our communities clean so that we aren’t buried in our own garbage.  Or, the next time you see a person working on telephone lines, or with electrical supply, send them silent thanks, as well.  Or, the next time you turn on the faucet and water comes out, take just a moment to experience gratitude that you have water available.

As you do this gratitude practice, notice the effect it has on your point of view, the quality of your emotional experience, and the physical sensations that arise as you take the time to thank all the sources of support in your daily life.  You may find that, when you’ve had a hard day, your mood shifts if you take just a few moments to notice that you have electricity, or running water, and to bring a sense of gratitude to these services we so often take for granted.

Another element of this experiment is the opportunity to remember that you are never alone.  All these sources of invisible support are constantly present as part of your life and represent the fact that you are part of a larger community that is working on your behalf all the time.  When you bring this into your awareness, notice your experience - what happens in your body?  What shifts, if anything, in the quality of your thinking or your emotional experience?

Remember that, as with all these experiments, there is no right or wrong answer to this one.  The purpose is to have an opportunity to explore living more consciously and to notice what qualities that brings into your daily life.

312th Week: The Teachers We Meet Along the Way
As I sit to write to you this morning, I find that my grandmother is on my mind.  She was my first spiritual teacher and had an enormous impact on my life.  That got me to thinking of other people I’ve met along the way who have touched my life in ways that have made a difference to me.  That line of thinking took me back to gratitude, where we spent time last week, so this week’s experiment will be a continuation of gratitude practice, but with a slightly different focus.

For this week, I invite you to be aware of specific people in your life who have made a difference in who you are and how you live.  They may have been friends, relatives, teachers, or random encounters along the way.  The particular focus for this week is to recall people who have gifted you with their presence and teachings.

For example, the things my grandmother taught me as a child are still with me and still guide me in much of my life.  When I think of her, I experience deep gratitude that I had the opportunity to grow up with someone whose spiritual life was so vividly present in her everyday activities.  I’m sure that her modeling being constantly attuned to the world of spirit around her has impacted me even more than I consciously know, as I don’t recall a single day when she didn’t mention something about her spiritual experiences and practices.  She taught me that spiritual life is part of everyday life – all day, everyday, without exception.  Also, when I teach classes and invite people to become aware of the presence of collective wisdom all around us all the time, I recognize now that, over the years, I have drawn unconsciously on the assumptions and comments my grandmother shared when I was growing up.

On a different note, I recall a bus driver with whom I spent a good bit of time on a very rainy day in New York City.  Because of a downpour on this particular Sunday afternoon, his bus was as crowded as rush hour and people were wet and harried because it was hard to get around the city that day.  I was with an elderly person to whom this bus driver was exceedingly kind and, because we sat in the handicapped seats at the front of the bus, I had an opportunity to observe this man interact with people as they came aboard.

No matter how wet or grumpy a person was, the driver said “Hello.  Welcome aboard!  How are you today?”  Most people responded with a smile and a warm hello.  Others didn’t respond at all.  It didn’t matter.  The bus driver continued to welcome everyone aboard regardless of their response. He announced each stop well ahead of time and gave additional information, as needed.  He also took good care of the large number of wheelchair passengers we had on our long trip through Manhattan, and many people thanked him for his pleasant and helpful attitude as they got off the bus.

As I watched, I was moved by the driver’s commitment to acknowledge each and every person on his bus and the impact this had on a large number of people.  He became a teacher for me and everyone else he encountered. 

Another kind of teacher is the person who has shown you, through their actions or ways of being, what you *don’t* want to do or become.  These can be powerful teachers, and also deserve our gratitude, as they’ve modeled for us what doesn’t work and what doesn’t feel good.

As you move through this week, pay attention to the teachers you encounter and take some time to recall the people who have touched your life in ways that you know have made a positive difference to you.  How and who we are is, in large part, the result of our interactions with others, and the people who move through our lives touch us in tangible and powerful ways – whether we are aware of it consciously or not.

If you feel moved to do so, you might also play with expressing your gratitude directly to the people you bring into this experiment.  Notice how it feels to take the time to say thank you, or to share with someone what they have meant to you.

Please remember to leave judgment behind on this journey, and to bring curiosity with you as your companion along the way.  As with all the experiments, there’s no right way to do this one – there’s just yet another opportunity to become more conscious of what does and doesn’t support your being the person you want to be.