The sounds of engines leave the air.
The Sunday morning silence comes
at last. At last I know the presence
of the world made without hands,
the creatures that have come to be
out of their absence. Calls
of flicker and jay fill the clear
air. Titmice and chickadees feed
among the green and the dying leaves
Gratitude for the gifts of all the living
and the unliving, gratitude which is
the greatest gift, quietest of all,
passes to me through the trees.
Wendell Berry, from Leavings
There is an easy kind of grateful and a hard kind of grateful. Easy grateful is 'thank you very much'. with a smile or "thank you for remembering me" with a smile or 'thank you for including me' with a smile and a hostess gift. We are taught from childhood to be thankful for the nice things we receive.
Hard grateful is a tear stained face accepting forgiveness, a heart stunned in the presence of true compassion, a breathless moment when the tragedy is averted or the terrible illness finds a reprieve in death. We are fortunate if we have learned there is a place for thankfulness when we are experiencing the hard times. That is the purpose of the Sabbath, to ordain time for praise and gratitude even when confronted with things we cannot understand.. Every faith has time it hallows with rituals to deliberately provide the opportunity to name blessings and cultivate a thankful heart. The Real World was the original place in which to do this, and it remains so. Being able to know and spend time 'in the world made without hands' is Sabbath time. There the quiet and grandeur witness true power and frees us from the belief we orchestrate the world. There in the Sanctuary of the Real World we are able marvel and wonder and perhaps most precious of all, give thanks for everything. 
