This past week has had me envisioning a coin for 2023. One side says Gratitude, perhaps there is a sunny rainbow; the other side says Forgiveness, perhaps there are raindrop-like tears...The word "Time" arcs above both sides; below has simply "2023". My coin image is a melding of two ideas (ones I like writing about). The first, from American poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967):
"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. And when you spend it, spend it wisely so that you get the most for your expenditure."
The second is from Norman Vincent Peale (1891-1993), author of "The Power of Positive Thinking", who wrote that forgiveness and gratitude are "two sides of the same coin". He encouraged those who could not find their way to forgive a situation or person or themselves to practice gratitude until they could. Gratitude opens the heart to forgiveness and forgiveness brings forth the power of gratitude.
So this coin of 2023 is a reminder that we are moving through time, and our feeling states, our hearts, and our ideas-- sources of negativity and dissatisfaction, as well as creativity, deep insight, and yes, happiness--take time to ripen and mature. Most often, we forgive over time; forgiveness is a healing process and, depending on the depth and circumstances of the wound or offense, we need time to forgive, to allow a new understanding to come. Similarly, we expand our capacity for gratitude over time as we grow our capacity to appreciate life--our world of 'people, places and things', the times when problems simply work out, the magnificence and intricate beauty of the world. In time (as Peale often wrote), we come to an understanding that 'problems' are the impetus to spiritual depth and new mastery through deeper reliance on God.
The coin of 2023 reminds us we have choices, spiritual choices all year long. If you don't feel grateful, try forgiveness. If you cannot forgive, give thanks. With every impasse, loss, or disappointment, life provides compensation and an alternative path. Then, we have the choice to turn our attention to the gift of newness. Life continually renews itself and that process of renewal is you. Let every coin you come across be a reminder. (Susan Nettleton)
For poet Jane Kenyon's take on Happiness, Forgiveness and Gratitude, follow the link-- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../happiness-56d21cb4b54e9