“All shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.”
— Julian of Norwich
When we ponder the deep nurturing that practices of gratitude might take, it soon becomes clear this not a simple matter. To cultivate deep gratitude amidst great chaos or pain, in the everyday challenges of being human now, can be hard.
Julian of Norwich (England), a mystical theologian of the late 1300s CE, is well known for her writing and leadership. Yet the quote above is the one phrase most have heard before. It almost seems preposterous to assert. How could it be that Julian is saying this, amidst so much devastation going on?
Her life was during the plague of “Black Death” sweeping the U.K. and Europe. It brought her to her almost-death bed when she was 30, and just barely surviving changed her life. She became a cloistered nun who lived to her 70’s and offered wise spiritual guidance through a window until her death.
Listening to a great song by the UU Rev. Meg Barnhouse, has become a practice for me. Especially when things feel like they are spinning out! All Will Be Well imagines a conversation between Rev. Meg and St. Julian where the dialogue deepens through several verses and word shifts. By the end, it becomes clear that practicing gratitude flows right through suffering and cruelty. Not around it.
This kind of gratitude is not easy affirmation or surface thank you. Instead, it becomes a deep response to the persistent suffering of human living. It affirms our potential connections to timeless Sources.
Nurturing gratitude helps us remember we are more than our to-do list stresses and personal pain. We are each held in a Ground of Being that is woven in to a greater collective wholeness.
In faith,
Rev. Louise Green
Reflection Questions from Soul Matters Small Group Materials
- When was the last time you were grateful for yourself?
- Might gratitude for your life increase if you lessened how much you compare it to the lives of others?
- What would happen if you turned all of your “I have to’s” into “I get to’s”?
- What’s the luckiest thing that ever happened to you? And if you could talk to and thank that lucky event, what would you say?
