Thoughts: The courage that gratitude requires….
One of the folks who hits it right on the head is also one of my favourite writers, Oriah Mountain Dreamer. She posted this little essay on the courage it takes to be grateful, at times….
It takes a certain kind of courage to allow gratitude to arise within our hearts. We know that in an impermanent world, all that we love will change, is impermanent. To let ourselves love & be loved anyway, to feel & express our gratitude for lives we know are unpredictable means holding our fears about loss tenderly without letting them stifle our enthusiasm for life.
Of course, what feels like shrinking or expanding differs from person to person- we are the only one who can know for sure if we are shrinking our lives to accommodate our fears or finding the courage to let life expand within & around us.
~Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.