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Small Graces
by Kent Neburn
[Listen to Audio!] Night is closing in. It is time for sleep.
I have walked a quiet path today. I have done no great good, no great harm. I might have wished for more — some dramatic occurrence, something memorable. But there was no more. This was the day I was given, and I have tried to meet it with a humble heart.
How little it seems. We seek perfection in our days, always wanting more for ourselves and our lives, and striving for goals unattainable. We live between the vast infinites of past and future in the thin shaft of light we call 'today.' And yet today is never enough.
Where does it come from, this strange unquenchable human urge for 'more' that is both our blessing and our curse? It has caused us to lift our eyes to the heavens and thread together pieces of the universe until we can glimpse a shadow of the divine creation. Yet to gain this knowledge, we have sometimes lost the mystery of a cloud, the beauty of a garden, the joy of a single step.
We must learn to value the small as well as the great. [...]
"Confucius told his followers, 'Bring peace to the old, have trust in your friends, and cherish the young.'
"Do we really need much more than this? To honor the dawn. To visit a garden. To talk to a friend. To contemplate a cloud. To cherish a meal. To bow our heads before the mystery of the day. Are these not enough?
The world we shape is the world we touch — with our words, our actions, our dreams.
If we should be so lucky as to touch the lives of many, so be it. But if our lot is no more than the setting of a table, or the tending of a garden, or showing in a child a path in a wood, our lives are no less worthy.
I crawl into my bed, feel the growing warmth of the covers, hear the quiet rhythms of my wife's gentle breathing.
Outside, the wind blows softly, brushing a branch from the birch against the house.
To do justice. To love mercy. To walk humbly with our God.
To bring peace to the old. To have trust in our friends. To cherish the young.
Sometimes, it seems, we ask too much. Sometimes we forget that the small graces are enough. About the Author: Excerpted from Kent Neburn's book, Small Graces. | Latest Community Insights | Small Graces
What do small graces mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time you felt complete with the small graces in your life? What helps you value the small just as well as the great? | | ppst ppst wrote: It was nike mercurial soccer cleats at Nike Shoes Online the Paris retro jordans for cheap Opera House that I ugg factory outlet last saw Beltrami, Cheap Air Max Trainers three Cheap Retro Jord... | | rahul wrote: Enoughness of small graces is a paradox, akin to the concept of human perfection. Shunryu Suzuki summed it up perfectly when he said, "Each of you is perfect the way you are ...... | | Jagdish P Dave wrote: I love reading weekly Awakin Readings. I love reflecting on them. I am grateful for this precious gift. This reading is another lovely gift. I love to do both, big and sma... | | david doane wrote: All that is, living and not living, is God incarnate, and is a gift and a grace. The gifts or graces are everything, including this day, my every breath, my every heart beat, my hand, the... | | Kristin Pedemonti wrote: Small graces to me are: the ability to pause and soak in the song of birds in trees outside my window, to savor the flavor of the soup I am eating slowly, to be witness for a friend simply sitting co... | | Amy wrote: Less is more in my little world. I am gifted the grace (by God) to love and serve my husband, parents, mother in law, aunt, grandson, immediate family and whom ever else I come in contact... |
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