Persistence Pays-In Exact Proportion

Today I am grateful for a warm enough morning to enjoy our front patio and a cup of coffee with my husband Darcy.  I am also grateful for a nice conversation with my son Sam.

This quote below makes me smile, both on my face and in my heart. Years with no results? I can't say I have ever experienced that. Persistence and perseverance are results in and of themselves.

"Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, 

one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul." 

(Simone Weil)

I know discouragement. I know "why bother?" and "does it really matter?" But I also know flooding of the soul with such a deep sense of awakening, a deep sense of grace. My soul. The human soul.

If I hadn't gained a healthier perception of myself, if I hadn't known a little peace from my self-defeating thoughts, maybe I would have given up. But it didn't take long into my gratitude practice, which I began in earnest 20 years ago, for me to know it was making a difference. 

I am not flooded with gratitude every day. Who is? But I know frequent and consistent positive upticks in my outlook on life when I persist in my gratitude practice. And by practice I mean awareness of the gifts in my life. Sometimes that translates into writing a thank you or giving a gift to someone, but day in and day out it is mostly about paying attention. 

The light is brighter on some days, but it is always there.