Dear friends,
May you have a rewarding practice today as we look at the gift of life and we give thanks for the source of the amazing unearned gift which is our existence.
As Thurgood Marshall tells us,
None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
We got here because somebody,
A parent,
A teacher,
An Ivy League crony or a few nuns bent down and helped us pick up our boots.
Let's take a moment or two to sit still,
Breathe in,
Breathe out and as we do,
Let us reflect on the sheer wonder of our being,
The extraordinary fact of our being here and let us give thanks for the source of our life.
Jim DeMint tells us that one of the greatest titles in the world is parent and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to have parents to call mum and dad and of course that is very true.
We owe so much to the people who have brought us into the world,
Our mother,
Our father and the generations beyond number before them without any one of whom you would not be you and I would not be me.
In giving thanks for our parents we have to call to mind the many different types of families there are and be grateful for those that happen to fit into our own particular history.
In times gone by and in the West at least we had the traditional image of mum and dad,
Mum at home looking after the children and dad out at work making his contribution in the form of money for the household.
These days it's less common for there to be only one parent working outside the home but regardless of who was out working and who if any was staying at home many of us were born into such a nuclear family where we found nurture and care.
For such good fortune let us be truly thankful.
You belong to the world dear friend.
Give thanks.
A quote from Zig Ziglar Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions.
The more you express gratitude for what you have the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.
But times have changed.
In the 21st century in many places the nuclear family is less the norm.
However one thing which has not changed over all the years is the natural love which people have for the children under their care.
It's a natural instinct with happy results for all of us.
We all need love and nurturing throughout life but especially in our formative years.
You may be the child of a sole parent,
A single parent or a parent who has lost a partner.
Not by any means the easiest of tasks being the one to bring up and guide a child on the narrow path leading to a good life and all this on your own.
You belong in the world dear friend.
Give thanks for the single reassuring voice of authority in your early life.
A quote from Melody Beatty Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough and more.
It turns denial into acceptance.
Chaos to order.
Confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast.
A house into a home.
A stranger into a friend.
You may be the child of a loving same-sex couple.
You belong in the world dear friend.
Give thanks and recall how we celebrate unity in diversity.
A quote from Carole King I've had a remarkable life.
I seem to be in such good places at the right time.
You know if you were to ask me to sum up my life in one word.
Gratitude.
You may be the child of a blended family with one of your parents having a child or children through a previous relationship.
You have had the opportunity to live in close quarters with a family member who is not a full sibling.
You belong in the world dear friend.
And give thanks for the love that surrounded you and surrounds you still.
A quote from Mandy Ingber Have gratitude for all that you have and you can be happy exactly as you are.
You may have appeared in the world as a test tube baby.
A life begun thanks to the advances of science and the miracle of IVF treatment.
If you had appeared more than 41 years ago and if your appearing had been via a test tube you would have made news headlines the world over.
As in all things yesterday's miracle becomes today's taken for granted norm.
Many people listening to this meditation would not be alive today if it were not for the contribution which science has made to human fertility.
You belong in the world dear friend.
A true child of science.
Give thanks.
See how our progress has enabled you to be.
A quote from John Milton Gratitude bestows reverence allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.
You may never have known your natural parents.
Mam and Dad for you will be the people who adopted or fostered you.
Together you became a family.
You belong in the world dear friend.
A specially selected one.
Give thanks.
This world is made for you.
A quote from Kristen Armstrong When we focus on our gratitude the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.
You might have had the joy of finding your roots through the miracle of DNA matching something unheard of and a matter of science fiction only a short while ago.
You belong in the world dear friend.
Welcome to a world of discovery and rediscovery lucky one.
Give thanks.
May each new discovery bring joy to everyone concerned.
A quote from Gilbert K Chesterton I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
You may have had a surrogate mother giving birth at the request of the person you know as mother or father.
All parties concerned may have struggled with the legal issues surrounding your emergence into the world.
You belong in the world dear friend.
Welcome to the world.
Child of parents determined to be parents.
Give thanks and recall the gift of perseverance.
A quote from Eckhart Tolle It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.
The list of possibilities goes on and on in the diversity that is this life.
Your parents may be or may have been the happiest of couples or they may have found it impossible to stay together.
A breakup is never easy for the couple concerned or for the children of a relationship.
But whoever you are and wherever you are on life's journey as you listen to this know this for certain You are welcome in the world.
You belong in the world.
Our world is blessed by your presence here.
Your life has the potential to be a gift to everyone you meet.
If ever you doubt your right to be here just recall the words of Max Ehrman in his poem Desiderata You are a child of the universe.
No less than the trees and the stars you have a right to be here.
And of course each one of us is in truth a child of the universe.
Shining or not each one of us is unique a once of a star in fact.
We are made of stardust.
The fallout from that incomprehensible moment which we call the Big Bang.
An event giving rise 17 billion years ago to everything which over the millennia has brought our universe to the place where it is today.
Is it any wonder then that the earth is referred to as Mother Earth in numberless quotes.
The beloved Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us You carry Mother Earth within you.
She is not outside of you.
Mother Earth is not just your environment.
In that insight of interbeing it is possible to have real communication with the earth which is the highest form of prayer.
And from the Christian tradition Praise be you my Lord through our sister Mother Earth who sustains and governs us producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
Words of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Augustine of Hippo offers us these words for reflection Men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains the mighty waves of the sea the broad tides of rivers the compass of the ocean and the circuits of the stars yet pass over the mystery of themselves without a thought.
On reading the Augustine of Hippo quote Diana Aiden says Sometimes I search far and wide for a miracle and completely forget that my very existence is pretty miraculous already.
When you think about all the many,
Many things that had to come together for you to be on this earth at this very moment it's pretty astounding.
We are all miracles each and every one of us and so here we are.
We owe our immediate existence to our parents but in the greater scheme of things we see that we have emerged out of the infinite possibilities offered by the great universe.
Our existence is a reason for endless thanksgiving and offers numberless possibilities for reflection.
And as we know from our own experience thankfulness and gratitude not only changes the way we view the world but changes the way the world sees and responds to us.
The measure we give is the measure we receive back and as it is put in St.
Luke's Gospel Give and it will be given to you.
Good measure,
Pressed down,
Shaken together and running over will be given to you.
For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.
A quote from Eileen Caddy Gratitude helps you to grow and expand Gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.
So let us give thanks for the miracle of our existence.
Let us give thanks for our parents our grandparents and all those distant ancestors who contributed to making us who we are.
We remember all parents and parents-to-be.
We wish them courage,
Patience,
Wisdom,
Love and perseverance.
We keep in our thoughts people who wished to have children of their own but yet have none.
Despite their disappointment may they find happiness in bringing joy and love to children in their wider circle.
Those of us who are lucky enough to have aunts or uncles or grandparents or people acting in those roles know how much it means to a child to be encouraged and praised by people other than their doting parents.
And we remember those who have lost children through accident,
Disease or unfortunate circumstance.
It's never easy for a parent to deal with the loss of a child.
We pray that all our young people may be tenderly cared for and guided on the road to a life of true happiness and fulfilment.
That all of us may be encouraged to use the gift of our lives for the benefit of humanity.
So that we may each use the unique gift that is our life to bring more love and kindness into a waiting world.
Namaste.
