Gratitude and Hope

Christmas is approaching. I don't know about you but the season has a different feel this year. Not in a bad way. It seems more somber or low key. Adam and Camille are excited but even they seem to be somehow aware that the world is a little different this year. We chose not to get a tree or a wreath this year. We decorated our ficus instead. I've been laid off, my brother is facing a lay off, friends have been laid off. And all in time for Christmas. Ironically I am very happy and up. Sure, that might be the celexa talking but I don't think that is the only thing. I continue to feel relieved to have a new opportunity. But in the bottom of my mind I am aware of the 'high wire' act I am setting out on. But the excitement of that, and not the anxiety seems to be prevalent.

And then there is Adam's successful treatment. That continues to stoke the fire of optimism for me. Despite the economy and general uncertainty in the world I just feel thankful and glad that Adam is healthy, that Camille seems like the happiest little girl I know and that I am lucky enough to be married to Martha.

Other items on the good news list: Obama got elected, I have reconnected with some old friends via facebook (Jared calls me the worst facebook geek he knows), my Mom got her knee replaced and that will lead to her being more mobile I think, my brother in law was made partner at his firm (thank God one of us is gainfully employed), Camille is performing in the Nutcracker this weekend, Adam is playing in his school band performance tomorrow, Martha got a bonus......

I am hopeful that 2009 will be a good year. It's going to have to be better than 2008. I hope for peace, justice and prosperity for our country and the world. Maybe that is spitting in the wind...but hope springs eternal.


Prayer for Peace
Almighty and merciful God, Father of all men, Creator and ruler of the universe,Lord of all history, whose designs are without blemish, whose compassion for the errors of men is inexhaustible, in your will is our peace.
Mercifully hear this prayer which rises to you from the tumult and desperation of a world in which you are forgotten, in which your name is not invoked,your laws are derided and your presence is ignored. Because we do not know you, we have no peace.
From the heart of an eternal silence, you have watched the rise of empires and have seen the smoke of their downfall. You have witnessed the impious fury of ten thousand fratricidal wars, in which great powers have torn whole
continents to shreds in the name of peace and justice.
A day of ominous decision has now dawned on this free nation. Save us then
from our obsessions! Open our eyes, dissipate our confusions, teach us
to understand ourselves and our adversary.
Let us never forget that sins
against the law of love are punishable by loss of faith, and those
without faith stop at no crime to achieve their ends!Help us to be masters of the weapons that threaten to master us.
Help us to use our science for peace and plenty, not for war and
destruction. Save us from the compulsion to follow our adversaries
in all that we most hate, confirming them in their hatred and
suspicion of us.
Resolve our inner contradictions, which now
grow beyond belief and beyond bearing. They are at once a torment
and a blessing: for if you had not left us the light of conscience,we would not have to endure them.
Teach us to wait and trust.Grant light, grant strength and patience to all who work for peace.But grant us above all to see that our ways are not necessarily
your ways, that we cannot fully penetrate the mystery of your
designs and that the very storm of power now raging on this earth
reveals your hidden will and your inscrutable decision.
Grant us to see your face in the lightning of this cosmic storm,O God of holiness, merciful to men. Grant us to seek peace where
it is truly found. In your will, O God, is our peace.
Amen.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968)Prayer for Peace