With Gratitude

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” (Marcel Proust)

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

This morning I enjoyed breakfast and conversation with my friend, Vernon, at our local restaurant called Sue's. Jim stopped by our table to chat and we laughed at our silly jokes and stories. Betty was at the table nearby and joined in our bantering. It is good to laugh and it is good to be with friends and neighbors. The occasional breakfast with Vernon, meeting with the "boys at the garage" on Tuesday mornings, and other such gatherings remind me of those "Star Persons" who have been there with me through the journey, laughing with me and at me, encouraging me, and dancing with me! I am grateful for those I have met along the way.

Written June 1, 2015:

My life’s greatest benefactors have not been my journeys to distant places, or the books I have read, or my educational opportunities, nor the dreams that I have dreamed. No, my life’s greatest benefactors have been persons—“Star Persons,” who, like that Bethlehem Star which guided those wise persons of old, have guided me. It is impossible for me to designate which of these persons left their traces embedded most deeply in my soul. At the moment, however, it seems to me, that those who urged me to listen for the “Call”—that mysterious inner Voice that calls us to our purpose—were the most beneficial. I am so grateful that there were many such Star Persons available to me along the way.

Life is not “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” as Macbeth thought. Life is being who you are called to be. Then the brooks, the flowers, the wind, the trees, the birds and even the rocks seem to sing!