"Sit quietly and recall someone from your past whose kindness and care touched your heart. Imagine yourself in conversation with that person. Tell them how blessed you feel for the gift of their presence in your life and what they have meant to you. Send your gratitude to them as if your hearts were connected. Thank them, and when you are finished with the conversation, say a warm good-bye. Say farewell to them as if you might never see them again, even in memory.
"In an unhurried way, call into mind, one by one, people who have supported you: parents, grandparents, friends, lovers, ministers, teachers, classmates, and colleagues. Share with each of them how grateful you are for their kindness and care. When you feel satisfied that you have expressed your love and gratitude to them, say good-bye as if you might never be this way again.
"Every time you encounter in prayerful memory those whom you care for with gratitude, the experience changes lightly as the conversation unfolds under the influence of grace and the parting becomes less a separation than a completion.
"As this gratitude-practice continues, expand your attention to include not only people, but also moments from the past for which you feel grateful. Recall those events when you felt blessed or graced and relive them with gratitude. Thank God for them.
"Imagine that you are going to die today. You want to spend some time alone to write down for your friends a sort of testament for which the points that follow could serve as chapter titles.
• "These things I have loved in life
• "These things I have tasted
• "These things I have looked at
• "These things I have smelled
• "These things I have heard
• "These things I have touched
• "These experiences I have cherished
• "These ideas have brought me liberation
• "These convictions I have lived by
• "These things I have lived for
• "These risks I took
• "These sufferings have seasoned me
• "These influences have shaped my life (persons, occupations, books, events)
• "These scripture texts have lit my path
• "These are my life's accomplishments
• "These persons are enshrined in my heart"
