Ordinary happiness depends on happenstance. Joy is that extraordinary happiness that is independent of what happens to us. Good luck can make us happy, but it cannot give us lasting joy. The root of joy is gratefulness.-- Brother David Steindl-Rast in "Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer"
We tend to misunderstand the link between joy and gratefulness. We notice that joyful people are grateful and suppose that they are grateful for their joy. But the reverse is true: their joy springs from gratefulness. If one has all the good luck in the world, but takes it for granted, it will not give one joy. Yet even bad luck will give joy to those who manage to be grateful for it. We hold the key to lasting happiness in our own hands. For it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.
How appropriate your daily comments are - how much I appreciate reading them. Your thoughts are like stones cast into a clear pool, the ripples reach so far...all the way to Gabriola Island. I read them as my meditation. This morning what came to mind was a saying of the Buddha,"we are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world." We know from experience that all the nurture and strength we need is within ourselves, that we create our own future. We can learn all the lessons that life has to teach us without struggle, but with joy. Blessings on you dear friend.
Posted by: Karen Cain | April 25, 2008 at 01:22 PM