Spiritual Things Matter

Gratitude is the heart’s memory.
~French Proverb

When one becomes more centered and focused on spiritual growth, one also becomes more grateful. Gratitude is one of the most powerful spiritual forces one can cultivate.

There are so many things in life that one can be grateful for. For every challenge that we may encounter, we can counter-balance that with many more other things that we are grateful for. If this is practiced often enough, the challenges set before us become increasingly less painful. It then allows our bodies to heal and our emotions to settle.

It also facilitates a discovery of our true self. To have a heart of gratitude involves a constant looking within and a willingness for self examination. It is a life of honesty! One must be willing to look at issues in a broader sense, willing to see things differently. And, by the sheer fact that one has broadened their understanding, obstacles often fall to the way side and gratitude is the only thing in ones heart. Gratitude in short, is a contemplative life of humility.

The most important principles are the ones that are timeless and most basic. Principles such as: good will, respect, integrity, lovingness, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, and above all, “gratitude.” These abiding principles will solidify our lives. And, with gratitude in our hearts, it will only lead us further into a path of a true spiritual seeker.

A heart that is grateful for all that God brings into ones life, may it be laughter or tears, is a heart that will sing with joy. It is a wise heart indeed, for in the discovery of all the things to be thankful for, one discovers God!

I am deeply thankful for all that has touched my life! ALL!

Viola Jaynes

Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used.
~Richard E. Byrd

If you have never read, “Man’s Search for Meaning”, by Victor Frankl, I would highly recommend this book to you. The first time I read it, I wept. Not so much because of this man’s suffering but because of how he was able to translate his suffering. This is a work of profound importance for all those who have experienced deep sufferings in their lives.

I was reminded of this book as I read The Anchoress, a blogger who I visit frequently. When she posts on topics of spirituality, I find her honesty very moving. You can visit her at www.theanchoressonline.com. Yesterday she did a post and shared about her own pain and her own losses, and yes, even about getting angry with God.

As Dr. Frankl shares about his suffering in the concentration camps and the loss of his entire family while there, he finds the central theme of existentialism. “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering” - a quote that the singer Roberta Flack coined. This quote holds so much truth and insight. For each person that journey will be different and profoundly personal. And it will, as he explains, take personal responsibility on our part to find that meaning. Ultimately, if our pain becomes too great, we will need to ask ourselves this question: what is my reason, my purpose to live?

Nietzsche says, “He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.”

Life is not easy. It comes with so much pain. Yet, my dear reader, not being a stranger to pain myself, I have experienced that in the most painful moments, a breaking takes place that drives me even further to search for God. That is the meaning for my life. It reminds me of the alabaster box being broken, only for its sweet oil to be poured out. Those who have suffered much in life are the very people, if they so allow it, that can transform their pain, and deeply touch those around them, bringing healing oil to hearts that have been broken. It is not so much by the words that are spoken but rather of who one has become through this breaking. There is a sweetness and a kindness, a compassion and understanding of human suffering by those who have lived it. A shift from secular consciousness to sacred consciousness takes place and one perceives reality differently.

Frankl developed what he termed “Logotherapy” and he quoted Spinoza when he said: “Emotions which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.”

Be strengthened today my dear friend, if you are in the midst of pain and suffering. Take courage to find your own meaning for it, thus finding your healing! It is there for you!

Viola Jaynes

Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much;
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.
~William Cowper

Dr. Scott Peck, the author of The Road Less Traveled, wrote a book called, “Abounding Grace.”
What struck me most about his last works he did, is his realization as a psychiatrist that at the end he has come to fully believe that what brings ultimate healing to so many suffering patients is them turning to God. At the end of his book he makes a strong statement: “Wisdom is the number one, the virtue par excellence, the one without equal.” He believes it greater then love, although it runs a close second to it. He continues in saying, “it is possible to be loving without being wise; it is not possible to be wise without loving.”

We are admonished that above all else seek wisdom. Deep wisdom must be sought with all of our strength, with every fiber that is within us. It must be chased down as if our whole life depended upon it. Jean Jacques Rousseau said: “Youth is the time to study wisdom; old age is the time to practice it.” I would add to this and say that youth is the time to study wisdom and to practice it often that it may be perfected as we continue our journey on this earth. We must not wait until we are old to use wisdom.

I pray for wisdom all the time. True meaning lies in finding spiritual truth and reality. Mahatma Gandhi once said, ” It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”

I pray for wisdom for my children as they interact with the school system and with other children, each coming from different backgrounds. I pray for wisdom for our teachers and those that touch our children. And as I sit here and type, I realize that it is wisdom itself that speaks, letting me know that the prayers we pray do make a profound difference in our lives and the lives of those around us. That must never be doubted!

“Through wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established.”

Viola Jaynes

Batter my heart, three-personed God…
Take me to You, imprison me, for I,
Except You enthrall me, never shall be free
Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me.
~John Donne

Our total surrender to God is a display of wisdom and a fertile ground for even more wisdom. It is recognizing that the longing and hunger we have for God is His longing for us. His grace at work will allow us to recognize that wisdom.

The theologian Michael Novak speaks of two types of mentality: the secular consciousness and the sacred consciousness. As we long to find meaning in our journey, we will discover that our secular consciousness will shift little by little into a sacred consciousness. For many this will take place in their elder years but it is not necessary to wait. This path is open to all who seek it.

Wisdom is full of paradox. It is a gift! Yet we search for it all of our lives only to realize that it was God who initiated that search. Once wisdom is found one can never let it go because the realization has come that nothing else matters. The search for wisdom is the search for health, wholeness and holiness. All three of these words have the very same root meaning. I find this beautiful!

Oh, how I long to rest in a wise and gentle heart!

Viola Jaynes