It seems almost against our nature to be happy where we are, and probably to a certain extent it is. For were we not somewhat restless, were we not uncomfortable with staying too long in one place, we would not find the drive, the desire, to discover and create new things, and we would not look outside ourselves in search of relationships to enrich and improve our lives and offer us the reward of love. Yet, amid this restlessness, if we are not able to find some appreciation for our lives at this moment, we will miss out on the graces available to us in the here and now, and never find the peace to which God invites us. One of the first challenges of the spiritual life, therefore, is to appreciate where we are, even if it’s not where we want to be. Appreciating where we are doesn’t mean ignoring the past and pretending everything is awesome, as we’re sometimes made to believe. No, the freedom to live our life comes in recognizing where we are, in all its glory and misery and accepting that reality. Accepting that reality doesn’t mean that we’re content just to leave things the way they are. Indeed, it is the catalyst for change, freeing us to see the truth and redirect our lives.
— from the book Already There: Letting God Find You, by Mark Mossa, SJ
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