Gratitude & the Precious Human Birth

Artwork by Tashi Mannox

"I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday."

Lester Burnham - 1999 American Beauty

I am dumbstuck in the face of this glorious Mystery, my own Human Body, my own Kosmic Body. I fall beyond all conceptions in Humility & Gratitude for ALL OF THIS; every pain, every joy, every horror, every blessing, every honor, every failure, every delusion, every glory, every test, every death, every loss, every gift, every seperation, every rapture, every peace, every disjunct, every last inch of Reality, up, down, north, south, east, west, within. It fills me & I stand Free. May we always remember this Joy beyond joy. May we not be addicted to feeling good, but feel her splendor in everything, everywhere, until the end of all eternity.

Amen.