[My greatest accomplishment and the secret of my success is] ” … my relationship with God. It’s the root of the tree. Everything, everything, branches out from that.” — Gail Williamson, IN SWEET COMPANY: CONVERSATIONS WITH EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN ABOUT LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFE

I am a collector of quotes. I tape quotes on my fridge, on my computer, on my mirror, on my dashboard. I fix them in the places where I do most of my living, so that I can swallow them whole, digest them and embody their wisdom and joy.

All my quotes are my favorites, not just for the wisdom or inspiration they contain, but because they always seem to find their way to me at just the right time. What’s not to love about words that lift your heart, that remind you that God has heard your secret prayer, proven to you that you are a treasured affiliate, a Platinum card-carrying member Her creation? As Thornton Wilder said, “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

In this time of trial, in this time of Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the words of Albert Einstein: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” I vote for miracles. Mary Oliver wrote, “When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.” Living as though everything is a miracle, even the tough stuff, keeps me from being a guest at the wedding that is my life.

Some days it’s very hard to see the miraculous, to find a single thing to be in awe about. Those are the days when the rubber hits the road, when I call up the words of Meister Eckhart: “If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice.” I say thank you for the Unseen, for Not Knowing, for the Absence of a Reply, for the Darkness. I repeat Paramahansa Yogananda’s affirmation: “I am submerged in eternal light. It permeates every particle of my being. I am living in that light. The Divine spirit fills me within and without.”  I am awed. And I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Your thoughts?