In her Pocketful of Miracles meditation for March 21st Joan Borysenko commends the vernal equinox as an occasion to review the forces of light and darkness in our lives and to find the balance.

…how magnificent is the cycle of the seasons and the coming of the spring. As I awaken from my winter sleep, let me seek balance in my inner life and outer life.  Let me value equally the part of me that is healed and in the light and the difficult traits in my character that are grist for the mill of growth.

I know that for those confronting devastating floods and other crises, spring’s advent this year affords little opportunity for reflection. May they and all who support them and their animals find the resilience to persist and prevail.

For others of us the equinox provides the occasion to look at our inner climate and its weather, the gifts that shine brightly as well as the trolls of our shadow side. I find it relatively easy to embrace the light with much gratitude. My blessings are manifold. Dealing with my demons of the dark?  Not so much.  No doubt, the first step is to name them as grist for the mill of growth. Three come to mind for me.  What are some of yours?  Once identified, what do we do with them?

I have found an inspiring resource in The Book of Joy and highly commend it. A chronicle of conversations between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the book also contains exercises for overcoming obstacles to living in joy. From two persons well acquainted with life’s dark sides perspective, faith and humor shine as beacons of hope for all of us seeking the balance.

Whatever our personal circumstances, there is a way to experience life more fully. Whatever we conclude about external events that buffet us each day, there is a simple step we can take to stay positive. Make time to be grateful.

Gratitude is a key attitude. When we stop long enough to pay attention, we find there are many “little” things in our lives that, while appearing small, add up to a lot. In our busy-ness or self-absorption, we tend to overlook them.

In The Book of Joy, which distills five days of conversations between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the two religious leaders describe gratitude as one of the pillars of joy.

A key point in the discussion for me was that making time for gratitude can alter our point of view.

[Gratitude] allows us to shift our perspective…toward all we have been given and all that we have. It moves us away from the narrow-minded focus on fault and lack and to the wider perspective of benefit and abundance. (p. 242)

The ability to shift our outlook from scarcity or blame to the expectation of benefit is a huge fulcrum for leveraging all that is positive in our lives.

What are some ways we can do this? A favorite line from Kahlil Gibran comes to mind: “In the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”

• Pause before eating to thank all those responsible for providing our food.
• Celebrate the gift of a friendship by a word, hug or email.
• Acknowledge the tasks that tap and convey our passions and talents.

What is one of your blessings and how can you express your gratitude for it today?

The season celebrating festivals of light is upon us. Solstice marks the returning length of the sun’s daily presence. Hanukkah heralds the miraculous supply of holy oil that lit for eight days the lamps of the temple’s re-dedication. Christmas welcomes the child destined in the eyes of believers to be the light of the world.

A recent message from friends arrived as their invocation for this season of light. They are teachers whose curiosity links with their love of travel, nature, people and knowledge. From one trip this past year, they chose the wind as their metaphor for the season’s lesson. May their message inspire your own hopes during this time of re-ascendant light.

Let us leap into gratitude

like cliff divers seeking the wind,

hope-filled, trusting,

and unafraid.

(original by Penelope Stokes)

Dear Friends,

As we emerge from this November of our lives, we find we are not at all sure which way the winds are blowing and how best to find the wind that will carry us to a place that is safe for all of the people we care so much about…

 So we are searching anew this season and looking,

for winds that promise new understanding,

for faces that remind us of all of the blessed variation in our species,

for new currents in the winds,

for courageous people who are willing to stand up for others,

for laughable insights,

for surprises,

for special places we had not intended to go,

for the sacred in the midst of the ordinary,

and for quietly inspiring moments.

May each of us in our own way find the quietly inspiring moments that will strengthen our resolve to soar on the winds of change toward new light and hope.