Don't forget gratitude

Walk your walk of lament on the path of praise

          Rainer Maria Rilke

___________________________

 

they are unrelenting

the hungry ghosts

that linger in the dark recesses of my soul

 

despair

resentment

regret

anger (not always righteous)

assail me from within

 

even while the storm without

grows ever darker and more violent

 

there are days when my body’s reluctance

to get out of bed has less to do

with unrelenting pain

and more to do with unrelenting anguish

 

I am in the territory of lament

 

and that is OK

 

for there is a place in our lives for lament

there are reasons to despair

and regret is collateral damage from morality

anger is sometimes necessary

and resentment, alas, inevitable

 

but it is easy to wander aimlessly

in this wasteland

to turn in on ourselves and endlessly circle

circle

circle

 

lost, aimless

 

we must past through lament

if we are ever to get to joy

 

there are no five happy hops to delight

more like a thousand grim steps

 

but in our walk of lament

we can still walk the path of praise

 

in each moment

even as we plod through the pain

through the lies

and the cruelty

the toxic individualism

that denies the original blessing and blurs the image

 

we can reach for praise

as the sun rises,

praise

as a cat nudges

and a dog lavishes us with affection,

praise

as we observe a random act of kindness,

praise

as we experience love

praise

 

the way through lament is paved

with little praises

 

through praise

God draws us up from the desolate pit,

out of the miry bog,

and sets our feet upon a rock  (Psalm 40:2)

 

so this day I will lament

but this day

I will also praise!

 

I will have gratitude

I will give thanks with all of my heart

and share Love’s marvelous deeds (Psalm 9:1)