Month: February 2025

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Gratitude and Faith

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.  And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”

This quote is by Maya Angelou, who was a poet, singer, and civil rights activist.  In her quote, Angelou talks about gratitude and faith—two of the most valuable gifts we can have.

We can never have too much gratitude.  It’s easy to take for granted our abilities, our health, the opportunities we’ve had, that there are people who love us, and so much more.  Our ego attitude might be that we have earned or are somehow deserving of these aspects of our lives.  If so, we are wrong, for they are all entirely gifts from our Creator.

One of the many things for which I’m thankful is that I’ve had good health throughout my life.  I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had a serious illness or injury which required me to be in the hospital or to need to undergo extensive treatment.  A couple months ago I had pneumonia for the first time.  In addition to congestion, a fever, and a persistent, deep cough, another of its symptoms was fatigue.  For almost three weeks I needed to sleep more hours each day than I was awake; the doctor who diagnosed the illness said that was to be expected and to not push myself to be active until my body was ready.  And that also meant missing three weeks of work.

I would catch myself feeling sorry for myself and at times feeling frustrated that I needed to miss so much work and that I couldn’t do my usual activities, including spending time with loved ones.  I was so used to being healthy that I had difficulty accepting my illness.  But then I’d remember the many people in our world who endure far more serious and long-lasting illnesses and other burdens, and I felt ashamed of my self-centered attitude.  I am well again and the experience has made me even more thankful for good health, and hopefully it also taught me to be more accepting of life’s challenges.

Angelou also talks about faith.  Having faith helps us in many ways.  Because faith is based on spiritual discernment rather than on proof, it enables us to better deal with the unknown.  Our belief in God reminds us that we are not alone on our earthly journey.  Faith accompanies us as we do our best to deal with difficulties that are part of everyone’s life from time to time, and faith is also a source of hope and meaning in our lives.

Each day we should recognize our many blessings and give thanks to our Creator for them, including giving thanks for the gift of faith.

 

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The Price of Inaction

“The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.”

This quote is by Meister Eckhart, a German theologian, philosopher, and mystic who lived from 1260 to 1328.

In several of my posts I have written about the importance of not being afraid to make mistakes.  Making mistakes is a natural part of being a human being.  But I have to admit that I often need to remind myself of this because I, like most people, don’t like to make mistakes.  I think I feel that way because I want to appear knowledgeable and capable to others and to myself.  Perhaps quotations on this topic catch my attention because it is something I need to be better at accepting.

Being too concerned that we might make a mistake holds us back from moving forward in our lives.  When we are too cautious, we limit our ability to add to what we know and to what we know how to do.  We miss out on having new and meaningful experiences.  These and other missed opportunities are the price of inaction to which Meister Eckhart refers.

Here’s an example from my life:  Some years ago, I was asked to supervise new employees at the crisis line where I was working.  I had worked as a crisis counselor there for a few years and therefore I was familiar with doing that work, for I had spoken with numerous people who had called for assistance and I had completed many training and continuing education classes related to various aspects of that work.  And even though my being asked to do this was an acknowledgement that I was considered a capable counselor, and even though I felt that the service provided was valuable in that it was clear it had helped many people who contacted us, I was initially hesitant to say yes.  I’m sure the main reason for my hesitation was because I was afraid I would make mistakes.

When I told a good friend that I was struggling to make the decision, he said he thought I would be a capable supervisor and also said it’s important for people to “stretch” themselves, to not limit themselves by staying in their comfort zone.  Thinking about what my friend said helped me to decide, and I did supervise other counselors for several years.  It was a good experience for me and added to my sense of purpose.  I did make some mistakes, of course, and those mistakes provided the basis for discussions with my supervisees which helped them and me to become more competent counselors.

I also think about the many people who have stretched themselves by their involvement in meaningful causes such as social justice and caring for the environment, volunteering for programs that help to improve the lives others, and putting the time and effort into developing their own talents and potential that in turn will help others as well as enrich their own lives.

So the message of Meister Eckhart’s words continues to be relevant today, some 700 years after he lived.  We human beings continue to have many of the same personal challenges generation after generation.  I’m thankful for the writings of Eckhart and of the many other women and men whose words of wisdom I have written about in my blog, for they help us to remember what matters and to provide guidance as we travel our earthly journeys.