Prayer
and Gratitude
“Sometimes
people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate
department of life, the penthouse of existence. But rightly
understood, it is a vital awareness that pervades all realms of our
being...Wherever we may come alive, that is the area in which we are
spiritual.”
David
Steindl-Rast OSB
David
Steindl-Rast is an Austrian Benedictine Monk who has written
extensively about gratitude and prayer. I love his views on just
about everything, because he finds spirituality in the simple living
of life, period. Prayer is not words said in supplication, it is
biting into a ripe tomato, sipping a glass of wine. Prayer is a way
of living awake, and gratitude is the source of all joy. Think of the
moment when you see the face of a good friend—the happiness you feel finds its source in gratitude. Sitting on my porch
right now, the early morning sun is shining on a pot of petunias I
planted. The colors are so vivid they glow, and I am instantly
reminded of my grandmother. That is a prayer of thanksgiving—for the ability to see those lovely colors, for the life and influence of my
grandmother, and for the beauty of this day. Total delight over a simple purple petunia.
When
we bring divinity into our every moment, all things are spiritual. We
do not have to hold off until Sabbath, or be in a particular place of
worship. We can experience the sacred moment-to-moment simply by
being awake. In A Listening Heart: The Spirituality of
Sacred Sensuousness, Steindl-Rast wrote, “Any place is
sacred ground, for it can become a place of encounter with the divine
Presence.” Walking on the street, sitting in a restaurant,
working in your garden or your office, slicing vegetables for a dinner; anytime you
feel glad to be alive, and aware of that gladness, that is sacred
ground. That is prayer.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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