To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all our lives—the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections—that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment.
Begin each day anchored in stillness, taking nothing for granted, open to whatever the coming day's gift may be. Listen to the silence for ten minutes or so and realize how filled it is, filled with the breath of God! Su8ch silence wants to draw from you a quiet prayer that leans on that presence and seeks to harken to it throughout the day.
~ from RISE UP WITH A LISTENING HEART by the Monks of New Skete
What can soothe the soul as much as the grace of music? Music allows us to express and deal with our feelings constructively, lifting them to a new place, a new level of integration. The enchantment of music helps free the soul to sing, and its energy becomes an infectious catalyst to change. On the wings of a beautiful melody, suddenly we feel different, ready to move forward.
~ from RISE UP WITH A LISTENING HEART by the Monks of New Skete
