You must learn to understand the secret of gratitude.

It is more than just so-called virtue.

It is revealed to you as a mysterious law of existence.

In obedience to it we have to fulfill our destiny.

….Albert Schweitzer

the weight of inner awareness seeps between a narrow link in the chain…..it’s endearing really….how sweetly we close in…..our highest self reveals itself in how we acknowledge the narrow spaces…..to live as softly as possible with passion is the soul’s code of oneness….may you seek a stewardship of soul….

In the Midst of Pain

Once, not long ago, it was a hearty tree

providing shade, food, and oxygen-

a world of its own.

For a hundred years,

perhaps more,

it flourished with breath and life.

Then it was cut, sawed, ground, and pressed

until it found itself resting softly

between two friends.

Peacefully and patiently

it waited for the moment

it would burst forth into the world

and exercise the meaning of its life.

And now that moment has come.

It gracefully caresses my cheek,

wiping the tears from my eyes

and taking on my pain as its own

All those years

as seed, tree, wood

and tissue

in preparation for the fleeting moment

it would console my sadness.

As it gives its life to comfort me

I almost failed to see the kindness in its deed.

Wrapped up in self-centered pain, tear-blinded,

I nearly missed its selfless service.

Who will give witness to such compassion if not me?

Shriveled and soaked, it died while serving a fool

who discarded thousands of its brothers and sisters

without a thanks- not one tear shed in gratitude.

Teach me to see through the teardrop,

that in the midst of pain

I may understand the true source

of the softness against my face.

Teach me to cry with my eyes wide open.

….Gregg Krech

feel gratitude in the meaning behind the questions….

This connectedness that I felt, this experience, that I didn’t have to protect or defend my little self. I was more connected and I was just me and it’s ok to be so limited. I’m usually so overwhelmed by realizing how limited I am. It’s just unbearable. I want to be limitless. So for me, I had this extraordinary experience of being absolutely ok, being this limited little person. Therapy tried to help me feel better about myself and all the while the answer for me was to recognize my shortcomings and feel better about the world…..Lucy Appleton