Gratitude is our theme this month in the library. Having a grateful approach to life, cultivates not only reverence for the way we use our time and resources, but gratitude for the time and things we are granted.
Ms.Chase has been practicing the art of daily gratitude for the past year or so following the simple guidelines from the seventeenth Dutch philosopher, Rabbi Baruch Spinoza.
He suggests that each day for a month, we ask ourselves the following three questions:
Who or what inspired me today?
What brought me happiness today?
What brought me comfort and deep peace today?
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| Baruch Spinoza |
Spinoza believed in a philosophy of tolerance and benevolence. He inspired people to live with an appreciation for all living things, both great and small. Albert Einstein attributed much of his world view to the Rabbi. Spinoza equated God with Nature, which was consistent with Einstein's belief in an impersonal deity. In 1929, Einstein was asked whether he believed in God and he replied, "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.
For the month of November, we are decorating the library's foyer columns with gratitude chains, created from twine and tags with your written offerings of gratitude. Please take a minute to express what you are most thankful for. And consider the Rabbi Spinoza's questions, it might just make this Thanksgiving the very best yet.
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