“Where” Have You Found Gratitude?

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States this coming week, a recent trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania reinforced the importance of being thankful in my life…

As a kid, I remember seeing writing and drawings on public walls, buildings, rail cars, barns, water towers, bridges… even in bathroom stalls! This imagery, artistic lettering, interesting shapes and sometimes brilliant colors, I came to learn was called “graffiti”, a form of artistic expression usually done without permission but intentionally placed within public view as a “message” to the world.

Some graffiti invokes emotions of love, peace and friendship while others suggest fear, hate and death in its messaging and visualization. Subjective by nature and at the sole discretion of a usually “unknown” artist, there was sometimes mystery in the method used to access the high or remote spot the “message” was placed. This method of communication existed in the world long before blogs like this and the internet (No, the internet didn’t always exist!); and has a unique way of capturing our hearts and minds even today.

Recently while visiting Pittsburgh to see my daughter play volleyball, I invited Steve, one of the other dads that made the trip from Massachusetts, to join me in my 6am morning walk before the games began that day. Plus, as a Steelers fan, I’ll use any excuse to take people around the city and to the stadium while I am there. #GoBlackAndYellow

He agreed, so we met in the hotel lobby at 5:45am. It was still dark. The city hadn’t even woken up yet. It was calm and surprisingly quiet.We stepped onto the street and headed for the walking path near the David L. Lawrence Convention Center along the Allegheny River towards Heinz Field and snapped a picture. As we walked, we began talking about our daughter’s volleyball journey, our families, our faith, our lives, and the impact the meaning we give to life’s ups and downs has on our mindset. Most of all, we talked about how blessed we were and how grateful we felt to be alive.

As we crossed one of the many yellow bridges (6th street bridge in this case), we could see lightening coming from an amazing cloud formation in the distance near Heinz Field and stopped to immerse ourselves in the moment. Then proceeded to West General Robinson Street to walk by several Steelers landmarks. On our way back, I adjusted the route to walk through Point State Park to see the huge water foundation and the incredible view of Heinz Field from across the river.

As the sun began to rise, a beautiful pink color illuminated the sky highlighting the water and bridges as we headed back. We paused in amazement, captivated by its color, and beauty…taking a picture as it slowly faded.

It had been a great morning of discussion, connection and sightseeing but what would come next was unexpected and would prove to be symbolic of the day, our trip and the bond we built that morning together. As we walked under the final bridge towards the hotel, we began to see graffiti. Mostly jagged shapes and dark colors with no obvious meaning, then suddenly one caught our attention. It was written in black spray paint on a cracked pillar near an old dirty drain. No bright colors or fancy lettering. Just a neatly handwritten message with a simple yet profound statement. A reminder for all of us and a suggestion for how to live our lives:

“10 Minutes of Gratitude a Day”

We stopped and stared in silence. Then looked at each other, smiled and laughed out loud (LOL). We were both thinking the same thing! After a morning of getting to know each other and sharing our lives, this seemed too coincidental. We acknowledged that although our faith interpretation may be different (he’s Jewish , I am Catholic) we agreed that a “higher power” was at work that morning, bringing us together on a universal truth: daily gratitude is important. We had our picture taken in front of the “message” to capture the moment and reinforce the importance of gratitude in our own lives as well as in the lives of those we would share this story with.

I’ve returned to this spot several times since that day, sharing it with my wife and family, and in my blog. And although I do not condone graffiti without permission, I am grateful for this encounter and have even added it to the list of “sightseeing” spots whenever I visit Pittsburgh now. This experience made me more aware than ever of the importance, power and perspective daily gratitude can bring to my life.

In fact, gratitude, like graffiti, can be “found” anytime, anywhere, or anyplace if we seek it. It is personal and subjective, and can sometimes be misunderstood, illusive or overlooked. Its “message” can even be found where we least expect it….like along a river, under a bridge, near an old, rusty drain with a new friend…

How about you? Where have you found gratitude when you least expected it?

Happy Thanksgiving!