"The first rule is simply this:
live this life
and do whatever is done,
in a spirit of Thanksgiving.
Abandon attempts to achieve security,
they are futile,
give up the search for wealth,
it is demeaning,
quit the search for salvation,
it is selfish,
and come to comfortable rest
in the certainty that those who
participate in this life
with an attitude of Thanksgiving
will receive its full promise."
     ~John McQuiston II, Always We Begin Again:The Benedictine Way of Living

My eyes fell upon these words today while leafing through this book I return to now and again.Given the conversations that I have had over the last couple of days and those I have listened to on radio or television, these words were somehow comforting, insightful. Many people are focused on the financial crisis we are facing as a country and that is spreading rapidly into the rest of the world. The news is unsettling, disturbing and once again,at least for me, points at the many ways we are connected that don’t seem readily obvious to us. Many people have been caught in a mortgage nightmare and a spiral of greed on the part of banks and lenders that is staggering. The rest of us are going on our merry way without the full knowledge of, yes-it is true!, we are all in this together. I have been reminded over and over of the Native American image of the Web of Life….when one part of the web is hurting or damaged, the whole web is shaken and involved. When will ever learn this message? Isn’t this what we are experiencing? Those people who were given loans that the lenders knew they could not afford and those that offered them, have succeeded in reminding us that we are surrounded by invisible lines of connection. Their pain is our pain. Their fear is our fear.

So John McQuiston’s rewriting of the rule of St. Benedict caught my attention. Striving for security is a futile pursuit, he says. The search for wealth? Demeaning. Salvation……a selfish desire. But Thanksgiving, now we are on to something. The gifts of life that come to us, whatever they are, call out for our Thanksgiving. And in living this gratitude paved road, life becomes a journey of hope and promise. Living with this kind of intention also has potential to change our lives…..positive change,miraculous change…..the kind of change that truly makes a difference.

Those that understand this situation better than I report that things are going to get better. It will simply take time. My heart goes out to those who have less time than others, those who may feel this pinch for the rest of their days. My prayer is that in this experience we will learn to remember……what harms one part of the web, harms the entire web.And we are the web.

Have a blessed weekend……………….