Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reading from Coming Back to Life

by Joanna Macy

We have received an inestimable gift. To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe — to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it — is a wonder beyond words. And it is, moreover, an extraordinary privilege to be accorded a human life, with this self-reflexive consciousness which brings awareness of our own actions and the ability to make choices. It lets us choose to take part in the healing of our world.

Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art. Yet we so easily take this gift for granted. That is why so many spiritual traditions begin with thanksgiving, to remind us that for all our woes and worries, our existence itself is an unearned benefaction, which we could never of ourselves create.

That our world is in crises — to the point where survival of conscious life on Earth is in question — in no way diminishes the value of this gift. On the contrary. To us is granted the extraordinary privilege of being on hand: to take part, if we choose, in the Great Turning to a sustainable society. We can let life work through us, enlisting all our strength, wisdom, and courage, so that life itself can continue.

There is so much to be done, and the time is so short. We can proceed, of course out of grim and angry desperation. But the tasks proceed more easily and productively from an attitude of thankfulness for life; it links us to our deeper powers and lets us rest in them.