gratitude and detachment

All that has been created is for man who is at the apex of creation

and who must be thankful for the divine bestowals,

so that through his gratitude he may learn to understand life as a divine benefit.

If we hold enmity with life, we are ingrates,

for our material and spiritual existence is the outward evidences of the divine mercy.

Therefore we must be happy and pass our time in praises,

appreciating all things. But there is something else: detachment.

We can appreciate without attaching ourselves to the things of this world.

It sometimes happens that if a man loses his fortune he is so disheartened

that he dies or becomes insane.

While enjoying the things of this world

we must remember that one day we shall have to do without them.

 

Attach not thyself to anything unless in it thou seest the reality of God -

this is the first step into the court of eternity.

The earth life lasts but a short time,

even its benefits are transitory;

that which is temporary does not deserve our heart's attachment.

 

Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 134

 

 

Done