Meditations on Gratitude — Starting Over
There is only one day left, always starting over: it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.
— Jean-Paul Sartre
Every alcoholic knows it. Every athlete, every president, and every soldier. Criminals, saints, smokers, children, grandparents, priests, and homeless people feel it in their bones. The sun and moon tell us, but we don’t need to be told.
Every morning is a new day. We greet it with anxiety, disdain, or hope. For many its a choice filled with opportunity. Some can’t see it. Others, imprisoned or oppressed, have fewer, meager options, but choices none the less.
The new year is a celebration of ringing in the new, reminiscing on the old, and resolving to start fresh. Ironically, change is the engine of salvation, and the wheel of oppression. Our circumstances and our choices make the difference.
There is a special gratitude that we might have for starting over. It’s a new chance to get or stay sober. It’s an opportunity for progress, peace, or redemption. It’s a new roll of the dice afforded us day to day and moment to moment.
May all living beings have occasion for happiness
May all have an opportunity to dispel the injustice that may linger in their lives
May all be afforded a chance to dwell in a safe home, where they might enjoy freedom from hatred, greed, and confusion
May all quickly find the wisdom and compassion, in this new day, in this very moment, that can lead them to freedom
May all enjoy the peace available in each and every starting over.
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Originally published at www.andrewfurst.net on January 1, 2016.
