A Pledge For Grateful Living

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In thanksgiving for life, I pledge
to overcome the illusion of entitlement
by reminding myself that everything is gift
and, thus, to live gratefully.

In thanksgiving for life, I pledge
to overcome my greed, 
that confuses wants with needs,
by trusting that enough for all our needs is given to us
and to share generously
what i so generously receive.

In thanksgiving for life, I pledge
to overcome apathy
by waking up to the opportunities 
that a given moment offers me
and so to respond creatively to every situation.

In thanksgiving for life, I pledge
to overcome violence
by observing that fighting violence by violence 
leads to more violence and death
and, thus, to foster life by acting non-violently.

In thanksgiving to life, i pledge
to overcome fear which is the root of all violence
by looking at whatever i fear as an opportunity
and, thus, courageously to lay the foundation 
for a peaceful future.

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Brother David Steindl-Rast became a Benedictine monk in 1953 and got a PhD from Cornell. â€‹After a dozen years of monastic training, his abbot sent him to participate in Buddhist-Christian dialogue, for which he received Vatican approval. He has received many awards and authored numerous books, but the core of his message centers around gratefulness.  You can read more about him in this profile: Lessons From a Benedictine Monk