This week, Kriyabans from the Assisi Institute share aspects of the spiritual life as Isha Das turns to other work on our behalf. Today’s passage comes from Nick Clidas.
Even before the time of Jesus, the brilliant Roman philosopher Cicero wrote, “A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” Awareness of the importance of gratitude has continued through the ages, as I realized when I came upon a Star Trek episode featuring the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. Gratitude is important even to those who have “boldly gone where no one has gone before.”
Being a grateful person in this chaotic modern age is not an easy task. With so much darkness around us, the light of the summer solstice is literally the polar opposite of where we are now. Chinese philosophy reminds us of the concept of yin and yang, wherein everything contains the seed of its opposite. Realizing that these dark days and times contain the seed of light will help us to wait for the light to manifest.
If the Divine Creator and the source of Light created us, then the Light lives within us whether it is the Light of Christ, the Light of Diwali, or the Light of the Menorah. The Light always burns brightly within each of us, and darkness cannot overcome it. For moments when it seems there is nothing to be grateful for, this alone is cause for gratitude.
God, Christ, Guru,
Let me remain thankful
For the seeds of light,
Even when I cannot see them.
