Skip to main content

A Gift Of Gratitude by Brother David Steindl-Rast



A Gift Of Gratitude 
by Brother David Steindl-Rast 
 
You think this is just
another day in your life? 
It’s not just another day;
it’s the one day that
is given to you…
today
It’s given to you. It’s a gift.
It’s the only gift that you
have right now, and the
one appropriate response
is gratefulness.
If you do nothing else but to
cultivate that response to the great
gift that this unique day is,
if you learn to respond
as if it were the first day
of your life,
and the very last day,
then you will have spent
this day very well.
Begin by opening your
eyes and be surprised that you
have eyes you can open,
that incredible array of colors
that is constantly offered to
us for pure enjoyment.
Look at the sky.
We so rarely look at the sky.
We so rarely note how different
it is from moment to
moment with clouds coming
and going.
We just think of the weather, and
even of the weather we don’t think
of all the many nuances of weather.
We just think of good weather
and bad weather.
This day right now has
unique weather, maybe a
kind that will never exactly
in that form come again.
That formation of clouds in the sky will
never be the same that it is right now.
Open your eyes. Look at that.
Look at the faces 
of people whom you meet.
Each one has an incredible
story behind their face, a story
that you could never fully fathom,
not only their own story,
but the story of their ancestors.
We all go back so far.
And in this present
moment on this day, all the
people you meet, all that life
from generations and from so
many places all over the world,
flows together and meets you
here like a life-giving
water, if you only open your
heart and drink.
Open your heart
to the incredible gifts that
civilization gives to us.
You flip a switch
and there is
electric light.
You turn a faucet and
there is warm water and cold water—
and drinkable water.
It’s a gift that millions and millions
in the world will never experience.
So these are just a few of
an enormous number
of gifts to which you can
open your heart.
And so I wish for you that
you would open your heart
to all these blessings and let
them flow through you,
that everyone whom you will meet
on this day will be blessed by you;
just by your eyes,
by your smile, by your touch—
just by your presence.
Let the gratefulness overflow
into blessing all around you,
and then it will really be
a good day.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Coraggio

When everything looks bleak and the darkness cramps against the cold, it takes courage to simply look out from imagined isolation toward the wide horizon of beauty available in every moment.  It takes courage to lean into the sea of life and trust the tide. When weary limbs no longer support us, it takes courage to trust our inner buoyancy and float.  It takes courage, in the face of darkness, to remember the light and sit in all our apparent blindness and listen, silently, to the still, small whisper within.  It takes courage, in that dark hour, when nothing else remains.  Eyes closed.  Eyes opened.  A glimpse, a memory, a fleeting vision of a light so bright it blurs the borders of things seen and things perceived into a comprehensive wholeness of being.  It takes courage.

tree digging

Yes, I know it doesn't look like much.  It was only about 5 inches in diameter and 8 feet tall.  The root ball was no more than 3 feet deep.  But it was a sweet red-bud tree that we planted the year Bodhi was born, his placenta was buried in it's roots and like many of the trees in our neighborhood, it died (see this post to understand why) . I can't say that I mourned its death in a tangible way, rather it produced in me a sort of unnameable melancholy.  I am a woman who loves the spring.  I nearly live for it.  When the first signs of life emerge like a haze of hope, I drink in green with the passion of a desert crawling woman sipping at an oasis.  I gorge.  This year has been hard.  Our neighborhood isn't leafing out in native splendor, instead the tired trees seem to begrudge the effort, only offering a tender shoot or bud occasionally.  The north side of many trees appear to have given up all together, too tired after a long winter on little reserve.  I thoroughly

a story recently shared by a friend

 Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment. When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you." Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself