In my present season of grief and regret, I am finding that there is no way through apart from gratitude, and that, in fact, thankfulness is my greatest help. Not a plaster of it applied on the wound, not some anesthetic thanks to numb or replace the sadness, but...
The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn't fully been recognized. They keep millions of people sane. When you pet a dog or listen to a cat purring, thinking may subside for a moment and a space of stillness arises within you, a doorway into Being.
But unless we make space for grief, we cannot know the depths of the love of God, the healing God wrings from pain, the way grieving yields wisdom, comfort, even joy. If we do not make time for grief, it will not simply disappear. Grief is stubborn. It will make...
Hate is as all-absorbing as love, as irrational, and in its own way as satisfying. As lovers thrive on the presence of the beloved, haters revel in encounters with the one they hate. They confirm him in all his darkest suspicions. They add fuel to all his most burning...