CFC Blog #162: I'm Grateful for Gratitude (And Many Other) Colored Lenses

Rob sent me what he wrote below in response to my ask for something he was grateful for for the CFC Gratitude Share Out. I was moved by his unique perspective and thoughts about this topic. 

I was also reminded of what happened yesterday after a distant relative shared something on his Facebook about homeless people that really triggered me, and though I'm not one to use social media as a platform for promoting my beliefs, I was irked by the hyperbolic message he was putting out there and I decided to quickly comment something  that was a little (I admit) sassy. I felt he was coming off as incredibly desensitized and felt the need to put my two cents in. A few moments later, I saw he commented back, and I expected it to be a very defensive remark. However, I was actually pleased to see he responded with a question for me. And though I realize our values are fundamentally different, I appreciated that he challenged me to not cling to my mindset so tightly and just engage in conversation. I'm grateful for the rise of diverging human lenses that encourage me to grow and think more deeply about controversial issues. 

- Amanda

I’m Grateful For Gratitude (And Many Other) Colored Lenses

It’s been a weird year out there. A key lesson that has helped me this year is to continually ask, “What “eyes” am I currently judging this situation with?” I won’t belabor all the versions here – but you’ll know what I mean if I just say that there are “child’s eyes” and “adult’s eyes,” “cynical eyes” and “the ego’s eyes” etc... Put simply, I’m compelled to ask what lens is coloring my judgement in any given situation.

Gratitude can be an extraordinary lens for us – as business managers, as friends, and as humans. Whether we are creating that next, great business strategy or brand; coding our next project; watching politics, visiting with friends at dinner, or arguing over politics AT dinner, we can choose to look at the enormity of the conflicts we experience through a lens of gracious gratitude. In its own way, gratitude represents evolutionary change and – yes – hope. We may or may not like the direction, or the source; we may be discouraged and appalled at the deceit or the anger it can incite. But we can still be grateful that it causes us to think or act differently.

I’m so deeply grateful for my family, my friends, my colleagues with whom I work, the clients for whom I do the work, and all of the people I get to interact with on a daily basis. But I’m also grateful for all those who I don’t know, who I don’t like, and who may never realize the impact they have had on me – both the good and the bad.  It reminds me very much of the quote from Albert Schweitzer -  “I always think that we all live, spiritually, by what others have given us in the significant hours of our life.”