Thankfulness in suffering

Opening Reflections:

I have learned to offer no resistance to what is; 
I have learned to allow the present moment to be 
and to accept the impermanent nature of all things and conditions. 
Thus I have found peace.
~ Eckhart Tolle

I have conquered all things, I know all things,
and I am free from them all. I have given up
all, and so I am freed from the destruction
of craving.
Whom can I call my teacher?
-The Dhammapada- 24:353

And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those
who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose.
-Romans 8:28

Scripture Reading:

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,

because when he has stood the test,

he will receive the crown of life

that God has promised to those who love him.

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of heavenly lights,

who does not change life shifting shadows.

-James 1: 12 & 17

Moment of Reflection: 

Scripture Reading:

The way of the Buddha is the shedding of attachments-
to "me" and "mine", to me the "person" and then
the "being", and finally the most difficult thing of all to give up,
but which we all must, the attachment to life itself. This does not
mean living in poverty, but letting go of the grasping attachments
that skew reality. If we need a single word, it is pride that
sets us up and apart from all things including our own nature.
-Biddulph, 1998, 15

Moment of Reflection

Reflection

My father had to undergo radiation treatments for throat cancer. The therapy damaged his taste buds so that he couldn’t taste food. His inability to enjoy a meal made eating a dreaded duty. The doctors told him his taste might return after the treatments were finished, but no one could say for certain.

Weeks passed, then months. Every meal became a forced feeding to keep him alive. After eating flavorless food for over a year, he sat down for dinner one evening. Reluctantly, he forced the fork inside his mouth and discovered that his taste had returned. What most people would call a bland dinner became the best meal he had eaten in his life.

Through losing his taste and then regaining it, my father learned to relish each morsel as never before. He became thankful for the ability to taste because he now had a reference point.

 He would never forget what it was like to eat tasteless food.

            You don’t have to lose something in order to be thankful. 

You can develop a “taste” for your blessings by simply realizing what life would be like without them.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 164) 

Memory Verse for Today:

Let us rise up and be thankful, 

for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,

and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick,

and if we got sick, at least we didn't die,

so let us all be thankful.

-The Buddha

Closing Prayer:

Lord,
We thank you for our days
we thank you for the love you have for us
the help you give us
and the ways you teach us
we thank you for making us creative 
so we can write poems full of love and sadness
we thank you o'Lord
for our lovely days
and for teaching us your ways.
Amen

***

Biddulph, Desmond and Flynn, Darcy. Teachings of the Buddha: The Wisdom of the Dharma, From the Pali Canon to the Sutras. London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 1988.

The Holy Bible(NIV). Colorado Springs, CO: The International Bible Society, 1984.

Dalai Lama and Cutler, Howard. The Art of Happiness. New York: The Penguin Group, 1998.

"Prayers for strength and comfort." Accessed November 14, 2012. http://www.prayer-and-prayers.info/prayers-for-strength/prayer-for-strength-and-calm.htm.