Gratefulness Part 2
September 17, 2025
Gratefulness Part 2
Have you ever given a gift, but your gift was never acknowledged? Though you did not give it to be thanked, without the acknowledgment from the person who received the gift, the circle of giving is incomplete. Completing the circle of giving includes gratefulness. I believe this may be why in most religious traditions, thanksgiving to God is an important dynamic. It completes the cycle of giving. It is acknowledgment of receipt of a blessing.
A speech given by Portia in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (act 4, scene 1) includes an example of the completion of giving. In the speech, Portia, disguised as a lawyer, begs Shylock to show mercy to Antonio.
The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
These famous lines from Shakespeare are deep with meaning. For example, the one who receives mercy receives a blessing. But the person who extends that mercy is also blessed. Consider this: from whom does the giver of mercy receive the blessing? The answer would be the source of mercy: the Divine. So, Shakespeare is making a point that gifts do not only involve the giver and receiver; if they a given with any quality of the soul, the gift involves God. True Giving is sacred.
Then there is the case of anonymous giving which is also sacred. If we gave the gift anonymously, how is the cycle of giving completed in these cases? Such giving is a higher order of giving; it was not given as a personal gift but as a gift from on high. In the case of anonymous giving, the cycle of giving is completed by the feeling of completeness, satisfaction and well-being after we give it. It is the blessing Portia speaks of. The giver is blessed by God and all is complete.
Gratefulness is a huge component of spiritual wholeness which includes the essential component of gratefulness. And all giving can be traced back to the originator of giving, the Divine.
Spiritual practice: Recall something you did for someone anonymously. After you gave, from where do you imagine your feeling of being blessed came? Were you grateful for the blessing?
Self-inquiry: Why would you give anonymously?
Prayer: Dear God, As I reflect on giving, I am struck with the fact that all giving comes from your heart to ours. We just carry on what you began. I am so grateful. Amen
