A Spiritual Awakening, Part I. Appreciating Life's Gifts, Staying in the Moment, Not Distracted by Fear or Resentment, Revisited 6/4/12

Forgiveness is man's deepest need and highest achievement. 
Horace Bushnell
To forgive is God-like, and one of the greatest uses of our free will.
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
 Mahatma Ghandi
Forgiveness is the price of Happiness. Mark Pilbeam
Forgiveness is freedom. Tony Dailo,
The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness. William Blake
Unforgiveness is the burning of the bridge we must cross ourselves.

(Photographer's caption)

             My guess is your weekend was fine. 
The following, after these comments,  I wrote a year ago, last April. I'm bumping it up. It's the sixth most popular post out of the nearly four hundred written.  I'm curious hearing your response.
         For the first time in years, my back is acting up. Ouch. No fun.  I've needed to
hold off on vigorous cycling until I get patched together. I took a pain killer, today. It helped; it also knocked me out this evening.
         Your day has been better than mine, I bet. That's something I haven't said before. I hope to get in my long ride tomorrow morning.  I'm crossing my fingers.
         I'm delighted the San Francisco Giants are doing well. I'm a strong baseball fan, probably a result of playing the game during the summers of my youth.  I love the game.  
         Following my local professional team transports me back to times at the plate or out in the field, as a kid.  I was speedy then. I'd frequently got on base as a singles hitter.
         The game freed me from the pressures I felt at home. I recall wearing my uniform, carrying my baseball glove, the pleasure of speeding towards catching a fly ball and smacking the ball when it was my time up to bat. 
          Occasionally, I pitched. I always had number nineteen on my uniform. It was, and remains, my lucky number.
    Here's the post:
One Mark of a Spiritual Awakening

"Life has many treasures for me if I'm willing to accept them, but none can do more for me than learning really to live in the present. That means being more aware of myself and of small happy things that often dramatize themselves into importance as I observe them with enjoyment. 

[For more about being in this state, click here.]   

Seizing the Gifts That the Day Offers            

"No matter how grim the situation may be that has troubled all my waking thoughts, there are shining nuggets of pleasantness all around me to distract my mind from its cares. But I must be on the lookout for them so they will not be lost to me! 

"Someone said it this way: 'For every man, the world is as fresh as it was the first day, and as full of untold novelties for him who has the eyes to see them.'  This is a constructive and rewarding way to achieve the detachment necessary from the urgent but unimportant demands of life.

'God make me receptive and aware; restore to me my capacity for wonder.' "

       I know the upcoming week will meet our need for celebrating life.  During whatever season we're in, we do ourselves a favor  making time to delight in the beauty that surrounds us:  In winter, it may be nature draped in snow or the rare sunny moment. Perhaps it's the loveliness of barren winter trees. 

      In spring, there are many wonders:the crack of a baseball making contact with a bat, playing cricket,  the chirping of birds or the buzz of lawnmowers sprucing up the neighborhood lawns. It may be listening to the roar of rain-swollen rivers, like the one pictured above,  while hiking.

       Fall offers many wonderful moments. It can be sitting in a warm living room,  immersed with a good book.  Kind deeds nurtures us, any time of the year----whether we perform or receive them.  Being aware of these moments---staying present---increases our joy. 

Delighting In The Day's Mini-vacations

      Looking out for the mini-vacations the day provides is a great way of celebrating life.  Appreciating lovely clouds, the purr of a cat or experiencing the day-dreaminess that occur during "mindless" moments:are little gifts life provides. Sometimes they happen when frosting a cake, pulling weeds, sewing, nailing a board or doing dishes, or doing the laundry.

      I've learned to let go and luxuriate in those moments. I'm breathing in life when I do. The process of living is often just as fulfilling as any tasks performed  What does it cost us?  Perhaps five minutes, usually less, for these mini-vacations that we can enjoy throughout the day.  

Developing Gratitude
      It's worth having a heart of gratitude. We nurture our soul and increase our capacity for wonder, when we do so.  Seizing the gifts God offers us for each day, is what we're doing. We're also developing our Attitude of Gratitude. 

How About You?

1. In what way do you live in the present? 
2. What are "some nuggets of pleasantness" that you've been enjoying? 
3.  What helps you to develop your Attitude of Gratitude? 

 Image: "Cumbria: Mountain River"  by Tim Blessed © all rights reserved, used by permission