Surprise is. . .

a beginning

of the fullness

we call

gratefulness.

. . . What counts on your path

to fulfillment

is that

we remember

the great truth

that moments

of surprise

want to teach us:

everything is a gift.

The degree

to which

we are awake

to this truth

is the measure

of our gratefulness.

And

gratefulness

is the measure

of our aliveness.

Brother David Steindl-Rast

Living Lines