Reflection
Each of us is meant to be a spark of light in this wondrous creation. We and all living things are truly marvels! To live in daily wonder at the sheer magnificence of this universe, to live in reverence for other living beings, to appreciate the daily miracles nature unveils is holy. To live with integrity being fully oneself, to live and to act with love and compassion, is to follow the way of Jesus. It is to live out the reign of God now. The gift of life is the deepest blessing. To live this way is the truest gratitude.
Prayer
May I appreciate the blessing of my life and live so as to be a blessing for others.
Action
Where do I see an indifference to the blessing and holiness of each life? By my life how can I help to raise awareness and bring about change? Reflect on the wonder of life.
Suggested Reading
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
Let your light shine before all, that they may see your good works and praise God.
Matthew 5:16
Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy.
Abraham Heschel
You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.
J. Krishnamurti, Indian Philosopher
Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.
Saint Augustine
Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.
Ray Bradbury
The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it.
Jacques Yves Cousteau
Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes – The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.
Albert Schweitzer
The world is full of wonders and miracles but people take their little hands and
cover their eyes and see nothing.
Israel Baal Shem
Everything is extraordinarily clear. I see the whole landscape before me, I see my hands, my feet, my toes, and I smell the rich river mud. I feel a sense of tremendous strangeness and wonder at being alive. Wonder of wonders.
Buddha
God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must accept it. The only choice is how.
Henry Ward Beecher
If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. No creature is so little or so mean as not to show forth and represent the goodness of God.
Thomas A’Kempis
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
Unknown