A story ....... it would be hard to do..... every breath I take is a gift ..... everything that comes my way..... what is there for which I am not grateful? At this stage in my life, I see everything is a gift and this life with all of its ups snd downs is one amazing marvel and the world keeps spinning and will go on without me .... its up to me to enjoy it snd know that every little thing I have is a loan to enjoy ..... so yes i am grateful for everything for now I know 'I 'am nothing and nothing belongs to me but is certainly a reflection of the genious, kindness, love of our Maker.
I do know about the 'real world' nor will I. But I do know that the world I live in is flavored by the colors of my mind : nothing enters without picking up the colors the mind gives each thing, happening. These days while objective data and evidence are highly valued -- the fact of their own wabbliness does not disappear for me. Hence it seems the following are possible: 1) to cultivate a mind that is positive , 2) to remember that whatever 'you believe in is/maybe a fiction - that you believe in willingly' (Wallace Stevens) 3) to know that you don't know 4) that inspite of the above three life is a gift worth giving one's best and enjoying. I think the Marathi saint Ram Das's Manach Shlok very much affirms the idea that the world you live in is of your making according to your own mind's nature --- so in his 205 quatrains addressed to mind in the most motherly and fraternal tone urge it to be attached to goodness, gentleness, humility etc. they are beautiful to listen to even if you do not know marathi. 🙏
I think sympathy, empathy or compassion can be received with equal regard by the receiver. I think all three reflect some positive caring feeling toward a person. How one expresses sympathy, empathy or compassion may also differ ..... but main difference to me lies in the consciousness of the person ministering to another---i.e., perceiving a qualitatively different relation to another human being, all three are good and valid and it just depends on eho snd where the person happens to be.
Thank you for this reading and opportunity for contemplation of the value and role of the inner journey. As has bern said, the spiritual journey is our native path home ... when we find our way to it we start meeting our Self and seeing snd feeling the connections to nature and other people. Organized religion has created much hate and violence and it is not surprising that new generations are seeking alternate paths. Yet there is power and strength and comfort in worshipping and pursuing the Supreme in the company of other . pilgrims. I do ghink the primal questions of 'who am I' 'What is all this?' 'What is my relation to the world and the creator' why am I here?' Are all breadcrumbs on the spiritual path and that there are as many religions as there are people and it is a joy when we intersect. 🙏
Thank you for this elucidation. As I read it, it also came to me that a person whose core beliefs and truths are different from yours can also have integrity. As applied to a person who values are based on selfish desire , integrity can be that which makes them ruthless.
I asked myself what helps me ..... everything I feel makes me feel alive, makes me more aware ---and for me that ferls like a reward. Awareness makes me rich and everything that comes my way becomes a gift because at the bottom of it all lies the mystery of who am I and how did I come to be .....then everything else that happens to me takes on a temporary face ....
On Nov 28, 2023 Shobhana wrote on Gratitude, by Tiruvalluvar: