Around me the trees stir in their leaves
And call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine." *
It is almost a new year and a time when we may find ourselves looking back and looking forward in a way we perhaps only do at this time of year. Sometimes, I suppose, we hardly want to look back if the year has been a hard one for us - illness, sorrow, financial problems - whatever troubles our lives. Looking forward can be more hopeful I think but it is also a bit unsubstantial because life never quite goes where we had hoped it might. Sometimes it is even more wonderful than we dreamed; sometimes it is a bit worse.
But in all this: the good, the hard, the unexpected, I believe that it can all be seen with a heart of gratitude. Does that seem odd when you are faced with hardship? sorrow? terrible difficulties? It isn't that it makes light of hardship but that somehow, a gift of gratitude lightens the burden of our sorrow. It is still sorrow but it is lightened by a sense that there is much that we can be grateful for - perhaps most especially that we are loved and cherished by our God.
Here is a beautiful meditation on beauty and gratitude that I hope you might think worthwhile to take 10 minutes to watch:
http://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude.html
*Mary Oliver: Thirst, Beacon Press, Boston, 2006 The poem is "When I am among the Trees".
1 comment:
I like the way Thich Nhat Hanh talks about how suffering and joy are really interconnected and that we can't have one without the other. For instance, without having had a toothache, how can we appreciate how good it feels not to have one? What we may see now as hardships and difficulties may actually be teaching us things that will then bring us joy. It can be hard to have that perspective at the time, but I'm sure many of us can look back and be grateful for how apparent failures made us step back, change direction, and move onward in a new and better way. The end of a year can be a good time to reflect on how things have been going and whether there are lessons to be found.
Your link led to a "page not found" error.
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