I am grateful for the present moment. When you untangle your mind from the concerns of twenty minutes ago and the lists of what you have to do tomorrow, the present moment offers such opportunity and peace. When you look closely at the colors and patterns of life happening right in front of you, then simple things like the texture of a dish sponge are miraculous.

Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.” Thich Nhat Hanh

When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future.
St. Therese of Lisieux

I have learned to appreciate suffering. Every time I suffer I transform in ways unimaginable. Although my mind can’t wrap around suffering in a world with an all-loving, all-knowing God, I can’t deny the beautiful transformative nature of suffering.

“Deep unspeakable suffering may well be called a baptism, a regeneration, the initiation into a new state.” George Eliot