Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Something about gratefulness


Here is another wonderful excerpt from the works of Brother David Steindl-Rast:

Day and night gifts keep pelting down on us. If we were aware of this, gratefulness would overwhelm us. But we go through life in a daze. A power failure makes us aware of what a gift electricity is; a sprained ankle lets us appreciate walking as a gift, a sleepless night, sleep. How much we are missing in life by noticing gifts only when we are suddenly deprived of them! But this can be changed. We need some methodical exercise in gratefulness. Years ago, I devised a method for myself which has proved quite helpful. Every night I note in a pocket calendar one thing for which I have never before been consciously thankful. Do you think it is difficult to find a new reason for gratitude each day? Not just one, but three and four and five pop into my mind, some evenings. It is hard to imagine how long I would have to live to exhaust the supply.
It's true. Try it. Really. And I really love this sentence: "How much we are missing in life by noticing gifts only when we are suddenly deprived of them!"

1 comment:

  1. i like this one - it would be a worthwhile spiritual practice.

    ReplyDelete

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