spring

We must not wish for the disappearance of our troubles but the grace to transform them.

Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. Yet, the choice for gratitude rarely comes without some real effort. But each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer, a little less self-conscious. Because every gift I acknowledge reveals another and another until, finally, even the most normal, obvious, and seemingly mundane event or encounter proves to be filled with grace. There is an Estonian proverb that says:

"Who does not thank for little
Will not thank for much."

Acts of gratitude make one grateful because, step by step, they reveal that all is grace.

There is a grace in life that can be trusted. In our struggle toward freedom we are neither abandoned nor alone.

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.

I want to leave enough room in my heart
For the unexpected,
For the mistake that becomes knowing,
For knowing that becomes wonder,
For wonder that makes everything porous,
Allowing in and out
All available light...

So I will stay open
And companionably friendly,
With all that presses out from the heart
And comes in at a slant
And shimmers just below
The surface of things.

Usually grace beings by illuminating the soul with a deep awareness, with its own light.

Nature and grace are viewed as flowing together from God. They are both sacred gifts. The gift of nature ... is the gift of "being"; the gift of grace, on the other hand, is the gift of "well-being." Grace is given to reconnect us to our true nature.

Grace is the breath of God, a divine force that moves through us, within us, and around us. Grace holds the potential to heal our souls, our minds, and our hearts, as well as the dynamics within relationships and other life circumstances. We are natural channels of grace. The monasteries that are dedicated to prayer for the world and the people in them are continual channels for grace in this world. These individuals know that while they are in that state of prayer, grace can flow through them and into the world at large.

Reality is permeated, indeed flooded, with divine creativity, nourishment, and care.

Grace is not a thing to come to you. It is ever showering on you. You have only to be conscious of it. May God grant you this faith and this consciousness.