Feeling Gratitude in Light of Devastation

This question and answer comes from an interview in Sacred Journey magazine, back in October 2001.

You write, “Prayer is not sending in an order and expecting it to be fulfilled. Prayer is attuning yourself to the life of the world, to love, to the force that moves the sun and the moon and the stars.” When things are going well in my life I can relate to those words. But how can I understand this when I face a devastating medical diagnosis or am in the depths of depression?

The moment when you get bad news or are in a depression is not the moment to start attuning yourself in prayer. If you practice attuning yourself now, it will be relatively easy even in those very difficult times. If you live gratefully recognizing the good when you have a cup of tea or a comfortable seat or a nice conversation, then when something difficult comes along, this will not be the first moment when you wake up. Ninety-nine percent of the time we have an opportunity to be grateful for something. We just don’t notice it. We go through our days in a daze.

Be Well.