Going on a trip? Pack your gratitude!

by Melissa Konetchy

A good friend and I just got back from a trip to another continent where we had the time of our lives. Now I realize that I’m not a wall-flower, no matter which country you stick me in. Things have really changed for me on that count, but more about that later.

We had just traveled to Athens on the 16 plus hour trip from the Pacific US Coast, and found ourselves immersed in a different language (literally, it was all Greek to me), culture, and climate. What wasn’t even slightly different, though, was the generosity and good-will that we experienced immediately upon arrival.

Eschewing a taxi, we took the metro from the airport, where we met a friendly fellow-American traveler. Next, we wheeled our luggage, map-in-hand through narrow-as-ally streets and asked helpful locals how to read the street signs, which direction we were headed along the map, etc. After a short walk we reached our hotel, and soon we were exploring the city sights. Whew! First time outside of North America for me!

We met up with our group (although we were not yet acquainted) and asked a couple of fellow travelers to join us for dinner. For a group of strangers, the dinner conversation was exceedingly easy. Conversation ranged from body image to politics, careers, travels, etc. Let’s just say we were all smiling and laughing together right away.

After dining, one of our new friends suggested we check out a party at a nearby hostel, where he had stayed for several nights. Off we went, and I was slightly unprepared for what came next: the rooftop party-decked out with red and white Christmas lights-had a truly memorable view of the Parthenon, illuminated at night. We rubbed elbows with interesting young adults from all over the world, shared jokes and stories, and witnessed the incredible Athens Tower and the Acropolis, not to mention the sublime balmy breeze.

At a loss for words, I sat silently, drinking in the scene. Within a couple of minutes, I was asked if I was tired, which made me smile. “Actually,” I said, “I was just sitting here and praying.” Ha ha! Nobody knew what to say to that. I explained that it was such a wonderful moment, I was just being grateful for having met great friends and a lovely evening. That suited everybody, and the conversation picked right up again.

I find that moments of bliss and happiness are, in fact, reverent opportunities to be still and humbly grateful. A few years ago, I would have been very lonely on that rooftop, surrounded by the same gregarious bunch of world travelers. As much as I wanted to be liked by other people, I had a skewed perception of myself. And I was always waiting to be happy. It was as though the circumstances were never quite right, and I had trouble relating to others. It was easier to be alone, or be surrounded by other loners. It seemed that I always sized up everyone else, and decided that they were judging me. Regardless of whether or not other people were judging me, I was clearly not being loving to myself. Really, it was I who was judging me. I had decided that I wasn’t cool enough to talk to other people, or precipitously assumed that they wouldn’t want to speak with me. What did I really have to offer?

But then, the more I have begun to realize the amazing love that God illumines in our lives, the more I have been fulfilled by a sense of companionship that doesn’t walk out of my life, break up with me, pass away, or hurt my feelings. I like to think of God, like a loving father, holding me safely in His lap, with His arms wrapped comfortingly around me. A major part of this transformation in my thinking was my decision to give more back to God.

For me, this meant a bigger commitment to the community, through membership in a Christian Science branch church. Wanting to give more, in gratitude for the many blessings I had received from my church family, opened the door to receive even more good! I learned a lesson that is key to friendship. When you love someone, whether it is family, a boyfriend or girlfriend, or even your pet, you don’t skimp on showering them with affection. Why would you? Instead, you reassure them of your care, through your words, actions, smiles, and support. You don’t withhold good.

Well, my gratitude to God for all of the amazing blessings in my life, including the fact that I am still alive (even after rolling a car…but stay tuned, that’s for another blog), needed to be expressed in a way that allowed me to share it with others. You never really feel love or gratitude unless you share them, or give them back! I know I never did.

Being a safe, happy tourist that just couldn’t quit making new friends was just more evidence to me that God’s love is so broad that it embraces each one of us. Quite the departure from the self-conscious teen and young adult who had an embarrassingly loud and awkward laugh and felt like she wasn’t cool enough to talk to the people she met. I still laugh incredibly loudly. But now it’s evidence of unmitigated joy, and unselfish love that everybody can share. People tell me they love that laugh of mine, all the time. I do, too.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 10:11 am and is filed under Friendship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.