TALK TO THE THINGS THAT CARRY YOU

Laura Brigger

Apr 7, 2024

3 min read

Updated: 21 hours ago

On Gratitude, Attention, and Everyday Connection

By Brex

I talk to things.

My car.

My body.

The sunrise.

The ground.

Sometimes the coffee pot.

I know how that sounds.

My mother once told me I talk too much.

She may have had a point.

But for me, talking is not always about expecting an answer.

Sometimes it is simply a way of paying attention.

And attention changes relationship.

GRATITUDE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SILENT

When I speak to my car, I am not pretending it has a personality.

I am remembering that this machine carries me.

That it needs oil.

Fuel.

Maintenance.

Care.

Gratitude makes me more likely to notice what I usually take for granted.

The same thing happens with my body.

I may say:

Thank you, legs. You carried me all day.

Not because my knees need compliments.

Because I need the reminder.

My body performs thousands of quiet tasks while my mind is somewhere else.

Speaking gratitude brings me back into relationship with it.

THE BODY IS EASY TO TREAT LIKE EQUIPMENT

We ask a lot of our bodies.

Keep going.

Work harder.

Stay awake.

Look better.

Recover faster.

Do not hurt.

Do not age.

Do not inconvenience us.

And then we are surprised when we feel disconnected from them.

Sometimes a small practice of acknowledgment changes the tone.

Not:

Body, why are you failing me?

But:

What do you need today?

That question does not make the body mystical.

It makes us attentive.

NATURE CHANGES WHEN YOU NOTICE IT

Not because the tree changed.

Because your relationship to it did.

A sunrise you rush past is still a sunrise.

But when you stop—

really stop—

you begin seeing color you would have missed.

Temperature.

Wind.

Birds.

The smell of dirt.

The quiet shift from dark to light.

Attention turns background into experience.

That may be one of the simplest forms of wonder.

TALKING TO THE EARTH

Sometimes I speak to the land around me.

Thank you for this morning.

Thank you for the shade.

Thank you for growing things I did not plant.

And then I try to let gratitude become practical.

Pick something up.

Waste less.

Plant something.

Protect something.

Leave a place better than I found it.

Gratitude that never changes behavior can become decoration.

Relationship asks for response.

THE WORLD DOESN’T HAVE TO ANSWER

This is important.

I do not need the Earth to literally hear me for the practice to matter.

I do not need my car to receive gratitude.

I do not need the sunrise to send me a message.

The conversation changes me.

It slows me down.

Makes me less careless.

More appreciative.

More observant.

More likely to notice what I depend on.

That is enough.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE QUIET TO BE STILL

Stillness is often described as silence.

But some people find stillness through words.

A whispered thank-you.

Naming what they see.

Talking through a feeling.

Speaking appreciation aloud.

The point is not silence.

The point is presence.

You can be talking and still be fully here.

WHAT YOU TEND CHANGES

Not magically.

Practically.

The car you maintain lasts longer.

The plant you water is more likely to thrive.

The relationship you attend to has a better chance of deepening.

The body you listen to may get rest before collapse forces it.

Care has consequences.

So does neglect.

TRY IT WITHOUT MAKING IT STRANGE

You do not need a ritual.

Try this:

Thank one thing you normally use without noticing.

Your shoes.

Your sink.

Your hands.

Your bed.

Your car.

The tree outside your window.

Then ask:

What care does this require from me?

That is where gratitude becomes relationship.

STATIC TAKEAWAY