I thank you God

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E. E. Cummings writes:

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,

and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing

breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and

now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

What do you hear when the ears of your ears are awake?

What do you see when the eyes of your eyes are opened?

In other words, what brings you joy and fills your heart with wonder, love, grace and gratitude?

E. E. Cummings penned this poem to express his gratitude to the Creator. That he wrote it is evidence enough of his openness to the glory of god made manifest in splendor of her creative art. That he published it for our consumption suggests he needed more than an outlet for his joy.

Too often, the ineffable is dismissed. Too easily the sacred is profaned. Too quickly the astounding is crowded out.

When did sunsets stop taking our breath away?

When did azure blue skies no longer impress?

When did tasting, touching, hearing, seeing and breathing become merely mechanical actions required to navigate the passage of time?

When did the playful acts of a loving, lingering spirit cease to catch our breath?

Pause.

Play.

Admire.

Let the ears of your ears awaken.

Let the eyes of your eyes open.

Embrace fully the splendor in full array around you. It is God’s good pleasure to give you the kindom. Every day, you will see before you and around you and in you and above you and beneath you that for which awakened ears and opened eyes were made. Give thanks for all that you will encounter on your journey Into the Mystic.