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Do I Seek Relief of My Suffering or My Sin?
The way the world works is that the coin of the realm is relief of suffering: if someone does something that prevents me from suffering, even as minor as letting me in their lane of traffic, I am grateful. I feel the love. But if relief of suffering is the only thing I see as of value, then how can I truly celebrate Christ’s love, He who relieves our sins and not our sufferings? Until I truly see sin, and not suffering, as the supreme evil, can I be truly grateful to Christ?
— Unnamed author of weblog, Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
— Melody Beattie
When you arise in the morning,
give thanks for the morning light,
for your life and strength.
Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks,
the fault lies with yourself.
— Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief
Not in God’s wilds will you ever hear the sad moan, “All is vanity.” No, we are paid a thousand times for all our toil, and after a single day spent outdoors in their atmosphere of strength and beauty, one could still say, should death come—even without any hope of another life—“Thank you for this most glorious gift!” and pass on.
— John Muir
Most religious practice has to do with cultivating gratitude.
— Norman Fischer, essay titled “Gratitude”
Gratitude is something very profound. It takes us to the edge of time and space and beyond. To be grateful for life as it truly is is also to be grateful for death as it truly is—not to underestimate life, not to underestimate death. Our complaining mind divides the mystery of life and death into two parts, one called life, and one called death. But in the light of gratitude, we know that things really aren’t like that.
— Norman Fischer, essay titled “Gratitude”
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
— Meister Eckhart
This young woman [in the concentration camp] knew that she would die in the next few days. But when I talked to her she was cheerful in spite of this knowledge. “I am grateful that fate has hit me so hard,” she told me. “In my former life I was spoiled and did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously.” Pointing through the window of the hut, she said, “This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness.” Through that window she could see just one branch of a chestnut tree, and on the branch were two blossoms. “I often talk to this tree,” she said to me. I was startled and didn’t quite know how to take her words. Was she delirious? Did she have occasional hallucinations? Anxiously I asked her if the tree replied. “Yes.” What did it say to her? She answered, “It said to me, ‘I am here—I am here—I am life, eternal life.’”
— Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning