Spontaneous gratitude (ICA)

This is an awareness of being grateful for the very particular situation: for the colour of cheeses on a platter, for the smoky haze clinging to the window pane. Then the whole world rapidly becomes an object of gratitude: each element, dynamic and relationship a miracle. Life teems about one, showering blessings everywhere, and one hears welling up from inside one's being a mighty "Whoopie !". It may be compared to the song "Life is a banquet" in the film "Aunt Mame", or to "Life is a cabaret" in the film "Cabaret".

A dimension of this experience is a sense of awe, that is fear and fascination. One asks "What did I do to deserve this?", and fears one may never experience such a time again. The fascination is manifested as exhilaration with the gratitude that is flooding one's life. In this moment one finds one has surrendered to this gratitude. Subsequent contentment and feelings of having been healed will no longer depend on circumstances: a falling leaf or a spoken word will recall this overwhelming sense of deep appreciation.

This state is number 58 in the ICA Other World in the midst of this World.