summer

As life becomes harder and more threatening, it also becomes richer, because the fewer expectations we have, the more good things of life become unexpected gifts that we accept with gratitude.

If the only prayer we say to God is "thank you,” that is enough.

Our cup of sorrow and joy, when lifted for others to see and celebrate, becomes a cup to life . . . Mostly, we are willing to look back at our lives and say: "I am grateful for the good things that brought me to this place.” But when we lift our cup to life, we must dare to say: "I am grateful for all that has happened to me and led me to this moment. This gratitude which embraces all or our past is what makes our life a true gift for others, because this gratitude erases bitterness, resentments, regret, and revenge as well as all jealousies and rivalries. It transforms our past into a fruitful gift for the future, and makes our life, all of it, into a life that gives life.

Recall the kind of feeling you have when you succeed, when you have made it, when you get to the top, when you win a game or an argument.And contrast it with the kind of feeling you get when you really enjoy the job you are doing, you are absorbed in, the action you are currently engaged in. . . .Notice the qualitative difference between the worldly feeling and the soul feeling.. . .Now attempt to understand the true nature of worldly feelings—of self-promotion, self-glorification.They are not natural, they were invented by your society and your culture to make you productive and to make you controllable.These feelings do not produce the nourishment and happiness that is produced when one contemplates nature or enjoys the company of one's friends or one's work.They were meant to produce thrills, excitement—and emptiness.

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.Do justly, now.Love mercy, now.Walk humbly, now.You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

A spirituality of work is based on a heightened sense of sacramentality, of the idea that everything that is, is holy and that our hands consecrate it to the service of God. . . when we care for everything we touch and touch it reverently, we become the creators of a new universe. Then we sanctify our work and our work sanctifies us.

A spirituality of work puts us in touch with our own creativity. . . Work enables us to put our personal stamp of approval . . . the autograph of our souls on the development of the world. . .

A spirituality of work draws us out of ourselves and, at the same time, makes us more of what we are meant to be. Good work . . . develops qualities of compassion and character in me.

Pavarotti retains a kind of religious, mystical, commitment to his "work.”And he insists on referring to it as "work,” claiming: "You can always love your work; your profession, at best, you can exercise.”Few people realize that the joyful tenor, the man who is always smiling, is almost a cloistered monk . . .

It puzzles people at first, to see how little the able leader actually does,
and yet how much gets done.
But the leader knows that is how things work.After all, Tao does nothing at all,
yet everything gets done.
When the leader gets too busy,
the time has come to return to
selfless silence.

Selflessness gives one center.
Center creates order.
When there is order, there is little to do.

Your job in the scheme of things is unique and designed especially for you.Your job is something you will be happy doing . . . You can begin to do your job in life by doing all the good things you feel motivated toward, even though they are just little things. . . .

It is not easy to distinguish between doing what we are called to do and doing what we want to do.Our many wants can easily distract us from our true action.True action leads us to the fulfillment of our vocation. . . . Actions that lead to overwork, exhaustion, and burnout can't praise and glory God.What God calls us to do we can do and do well.When we listen in silence to God's voice and speak with our friends in trust we will know what we are called to do.We will do it with a grateful heart.