WEEK 100

God, what is your guidance for me today? How can I live the sacredness of my being?

Be thankful for your life.

No matter your situation or circumstances –

or how you feel about them;

the fact that you live is a supreme gift

and grace.

No matter the experiences you’ve lived

or are living now,

your very existence is the Creator’s

YES to you.

What you do with your freewill,

even today… is your gift back to the 

Creator.

Today,

live your life as a thank you.

Let it inform your thinking,

how you speak to others…

and the actions you take.

If tears are all you can give today,

offer that.

If joy… offer that.

Today,

present you… your life, 

to the One Who Created You… 

and simply offer the best, most honest “Thank you” 

that you can.

Evening Reflection 

To be conscious of your life as a gift is to be conscious of the larger context of being. The Dalai Lama said that the reason for Buddhist prayer flags, prayer wheels and mantra is to help remind us to remember our incredible good fortune to be alive. In the Christian world there are crosses and rosaries and churches to remind us that life is so much be bigger than just our individual concerns.

Today I am not feeling well. For a week now I have had, perhaps, the worst sore throat of my life. I will go to the doctor tomorrow. That is small news to my entire life, of course. Still, pain makes it more difficult to feel like saying, “Thank you.” My father, a Presbyterian minister, used to tell me, “Be big about it.” The “it” was everything. He was always encouraging me to remember a much larger context, no matter what I was going through in life. Today, I was even able to thank my pain… as a signal that I should seek help. I was able to thank the pain killer acetaminophen for reducing my pain… to thank throat lozenges for their soothing help. I thanked my wife for her concern… and my mother for warning me about strep throat. 

Interestingly enough, I taught a class today and completely forgot about my pain.

To live life as a thank you is to include all of it. 

All of it… 

and still say, “Thank you.”