Good morning! Happy Tuesday everyone. Let’s keep the ball rollin for this short workweek. We opened up yesterday by using Cicero and modern psychology to lay a foundation for the importance of gratitude during this most thankful week. Today, we’ll observe from a different angle.

For our main course, we’ll be highlighting how gratitude begins with attention by looking through the lens of stoic Marcus Aurelius and some principles of Buddhist mindfulness, which pair very well together. To burn that off, I’ll show you a quick mindfulness practice. For dessert, we’ll actually have two features in our Book Nook. The first being from Aurelius’ Meditations and the second being from the Dhammapada, one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures.

Hope your thought belly is growling, because Thought Breakfast is served!

Yesterday, Cicero told us that gratitude is the root of every other virtue. Today, we’ll ground our roots by finding gratitude in attention.

Gratitude requires noticing, and noticing requires presence.

Marcus Aurelius, famous author of Meditations, constantly reminds himself that the present moment is all that truly exists. The rest of the Stoics agree with Aurelius. They would say that these ideas of “goodness” and “virtue” live solely in the here and now, because only the here and now is within our control. Stoic control theory strips away everything outside our power until only two things remain ours: attention and judgment. Gratitude isn’t a feeling, but rather the correct judgement following correctly placed attention. Aurelius’ version of gratitude would sound like: “The present moment is sufficient.”

Aurelius also hammers down on where gratitude is found in the present. It naturally arises when the subject of your attention is no longer fantasy, fear, projection, or memory. You direct your attention to the single moment in which you’re actually living. Then you begin to notice, in real time, what is already good.

It’s a subtle concept within Stoicism. Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus would all likely agree that gratitude isn’t “I’m thankful for this thing,” but rather “I’m thankful to understand what is in front of me here and now, and to know that it is a good thing.” It’s a raw form of thought, but nonetheless beautiful in its simplicity.

This pairs beautifully with Buddhist mindfulness. Buddhism would frame gratitude as something like a combination of awareness and acceptance. Mindfulness is an art where you notice what is here and now without judgement. When you’re mindful, you’re allowing yourself the awareness AND mental spaciousness where gratitude can sneak in without you even putting in any effort.

In Buddhist psychology, gratitude isn’t simply an emotion or feeling but rather a living state of clarity. You see what’s real, not what your mind wants to be real. Like we said yesterday with the inherent “negative bias,” our brain tends to project the worst as a safety mechanism for us. When projection quiets down, the good that has been there the whole time becomes visible.

You can’t be grateful if you’re not present.

Today’s thought exercise is a rather simple one, but it’s powerful.

Ask yourself this: “What am I grateful for in this exact moment?”

Don’t generalize here. The mind will almost always go to “family,” “friends,” “health,” and the usual answers. While those are beautiful things to be thankful for, make your answer specific.

Right now, I’m thankful for the way the air feels in my lungs, and for my amazing subscribers (who would really be helping me out if they just clicked on that link after the book nook 😉).

Today’s Book Nook is special because we’re pulling from both of today’s main references. Let’s start with Aurelius’ Meditations:

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.46

This line is probably Marcus Aurelius’ most emotionally revealing line in all of Meditations. I think we can all learn something from a Roman Emperor who reflects on the privilege of breathing, thinking, and loving.

The Dhammapada gives us a distilled Buddhist view of gratitude:

“Health is the greatest gift; contentment, the greatest wealth.”

- Dhammapada 204

Buddhist gratitude, much like Aurelius’, comes from recognizing the blessings that are already present (health, contentment) as the highest treasures.

Munch on that for today. Try to find the present moment for yourself and, within that, find something you’re grateful for that you haven’t noticed before. Come on back to the table tomorrow for another steaming hot plate of Thought Breakfast!

Thank you for reading along with us today! If you enjoy this content, and want to start your days grounded in thought and mindfulness, I suggest you have a seat at our table! Smash that button below to check out more editions and subscribe!

Remember to stay mindful, smell the flowers, and take it easy.

Chef Ricky - Thought Breakfast

P.S.

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