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January Newsletter — Jan 22, 2009
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke writes “Wolle die Wandlung” – “Desire change”! Not just allow it; not just let it happen; but *desire* change. Br. David points out that “desire doesn’t have very good press these days!” but that it is a beautiful word coming from the Latin “desiderata,” which has in it “desidera,” the stars. So the opening line of Rilke’s 12th “Sonnet to Orpheus” can also be translated as “let change be your guiding star”:
http://www.gratefulness.org/poetry/orpheusII12_rilke_dsr.htm
We who are so quick to grasp – at memories, at ideas, at possessions – do well to “be enthusiastic for that flame in which a thing escapes your grasp while it makes a glorious display of transformation.” In this light, you may want to revisit our “Simple Living” topic and scroll down to Lynne Twist’s thoughts about current opportunities:
http://www.gratefulness.org/t/simple_links.htm
While Lynne does not deny that this is a frightening time for many people, she notes that “What is unraveling is that which is not sustainable. Practices, ways of being with money, markets that are not based in true value any longer are starting to fall apart. If we can see that what's happening is a truing, is a recalibration, it helps us see how to deal with it on a personal basis.” This truing may begin within our own hearts, as these ten new downloadable audio clips from Br. David’s retreat on Practical Meditation suggest:
http://www.gratefulness.org/brotherdavid/audio.htm
Our recalibration can extend from our inner wholeheartedness to an outer practice of seeing opportunities for grateful living in everything around us. This month’s Gratefulnews offers several fine examples, from unlikely friends to foodscapes:
http://www.gratefulness.org/gratefulnews/index.htm
And of course there is also the profoundly heartening news of Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration in the United States, which even people who did not vote for him can see as a great advance in intercultural respect, world citizenship, and our shared call to service.
If change for you is close to home and you are missing a loved one, you may find insights in our response to this question about whether you can remain in touch with him or her:
http://www.gratefulness.org/qbox/item.cfm?qbox_id=223
And if your journey involves chronic pain and trauma recovery – or helping others with this journey – then you will surely want to sign up for this teleseminar co-led by Br. David and Dr. Maggie Phillips:
http://www.gratefulness.org/a/teleseminar_09.htm
“Change is the constant,” writes Christina Baldwin, “the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix.” Knowing this to be true, our small and dedicated staff at A Network for Grateful Living (ANG*L) are profoundly indebted to you for your ever-new and extraordinary generosity:
http://www.gratefulness.org/a/support/donate.htm
Times like these were made for the ANG*L network, and people’s strong contributions in recent months have everything to do with how significant our free services are, now more than ever.
In Gratefulness,
Patricia and Margaret
on behalf of our ANG*L Webteam
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