Pause For Thought 20120109
With Father Brian D鈥橝rcy, a Catholic Passionist priest.
"Since I was last speaking to you Chris, I鈥檝e been through what was for me, a delightfully busy Christmas and an unusually peaceful New Year. One day I went for a walk on a beach and for no reason, I was overcome with a sense of gratitude that I had lived to see yet another New Year. By now I鈥檝e learned to take nothing for granted."
There鈥檚 a story told about the poet Rudyard Kipling鈥檚 attitude to gratitude which I鈥檒l come to later. Kipling was the first Englishman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. He went on to write Jungle Book, The Man who would be King and most famously of all 鈥淚f鈥� with immortal lines like: 鈥淚f you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs鈥f you can dream and not make dreams your master鈥� if you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue鈥ours is the Earth and everything that鈥檚 in it.鈥�
He believed in positive thinking. 鈥淲e may have 40 million excuses for failure鈥� he wrote, 鈥渂ut we don鈥檛 have a single reason.鈥�
At the beginning of the 20th century, Kipling was reputedly the highest paid writer in the world. When he visited America, a journalist confronted him. 鈥淚t has been calculated you earn more than 100 dollars a word, Mr Kipling鈥�
Kipling was surprised, raised his eyebrows and replied: 鈥淩eally? I certainly wasn鈥檛 aware of that鈥�
The reporter reached into his pocket and handed Kipling 100 dollars. 鈥淢r Kipling, could you please give me one of your 100 dollar words?鈥�
Kipling took the note, folded it, put it in his pocket and said: 鈥淭HANKS."
I think Kipling got it right. 鈥淭hanks鈥� is a precious word. It might even be invaluable. That is why we should be generous with our thanks and be eternally grateful for the obvious gifts of friends, health, love and life itself."
