Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Fairfield & Southern Litchfield Counties

Finding Grace in Hardship

Oct 31, 2024 09:27AM ● By Marlaina Donato
woman looking hopeful

adl21 from Getty Images Signature/CanvaPro

With the season of gratitude comes an annual flurry of festivities. Many of us feel obligated to show up at the table when we might prefer retreating into a corner of solitude. Finding a shred of gratitude may feel like an obligatory or even impossible feat if we are buckling beneath the weight of personal problems. Well-meaning loved ones might point out the blessings in our lives, and it is easy to be snared into feeling guilty if we cannot appreciate the good.

Being thankful for crumbs when we have been denied a feast might seem a task reserved for saints, but simply having faith in an hour of plenty that is yet to come can soften the sharp edge of our hunger. Feeling gratitude for bounty that has not yet arrived, and for all that is on its way to us in its rightful season, provides us with an opportunity to see the light beyond the shadow. According to the Buddhist proverb, “Enough is a feast.” 

Seeing “enough” on the table, in the mirror, in each other and in each day is a spiritual practice worth cultivating. Reaching beyond our comfort zone by loving others when we do not feel loved or supporting someone else when we feel less-than can bring us closer to all that is slightly out of reach. Taking time to observe nature’s complex patterns—fractals within flowers, textures of trees or the edible geometry of a cauliflower—reminds us that we, too, are part of the universal order.

Finding fragments of beauty along the wayside—a child’s pure laugh, the drop of sweet honey left on the spoon or a bird’s wing reflecting the morning light—invites us to look beyond the chaotic, current chapter to see the bigger story. Choosing to remember that all chapters come to a close can help us decide what we want to write in the next one.

Marlaina Donato is an author, composer and painter. Connect at WildflowersandWoodsmoke.com


Related Articles:

pAugust de Richelieu from PexelsCanvaProbrp

The Magic of Hugs

Through the ages, various substances and lifestyle changes have been touted as panaceas, but even in our modern world there is one unexpected soul-elixir that might rival the others—the h... Read More » 

 

pGround Pictureshutterstockcombrp

A Pebble of Kindness in the Stagnant Pond

From kindergarten classrooms to inspired blogs, kindness is a practice that is encouraged throughout society. Read More » 

 

pTijanaAdobeStockcombrp

Transforming Our World: Working Together for Meaningful Change

In these turbulent times when all the old boundaries are unravelling and all the old certainties are dissolving, there is a possibility for creative transformation if we work together. Read More » 

 


Coming in December
Deadline November 12th. Email [email protected] today for details and to reserve your space.



2024 Editorial Calendar