This whole phenomenon has caused me to think deeper on the nature of gratitude. Most of us already know the power of intentional thanksgiving, both in the spiritual life and in our outlook on life. But this nighttime novelty made me wonder where the faculty of gratitude resides.
Going back to the sleepless situation, when trying to sleep the mind needs to be at rest. If our minds are engaged in thought, sleeping is out of the question. That’s why reading, watching TV, and the like, have little effect against unwanted thinking, outside of wearing the brain out. So why is gratitude different?
My conclusion is that gratitude is an exercise of the heart not the mind. This is why my Thank you, Jesus at night has such great effect. It inherently disengages the mind, forcing my conscious I to dwell in my heart and not my head. Thus, it gives my mind the space it needs to rest.
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