By Mark Matousek — 2016
The poet and philosopher talks about how to live an awakened life.
Read on www.psychologytoday.com
CLEAR ALL
Elizabeth appears to be a naturally positive person. However, she’ll be the first to admit that getting to this place took real work. A cancer diagnosis over twenty years ago led her to reevaluate her life and shift her perspective to one of gratitude.
An act of gratitude is a living whole. To superimpose on its organic flow a mental grid like a series of “steps” will always be somewhat arbitrary. And yet, for the sake of practice, such a delineation can be helpful.
A Benedictine monk for over 60 years, Steindl-Rast was formed by 20th-century catastrophes. He calls joy “the happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” And his gratefulness is not an easy gratitude or thanksgiving — but a full-blooded, reality-based practice and choice.