麻豆约拍

听From Dave Tomlinson,听writer and Vicar of St Luke鈥檚 Holloway in London:

There鈥檚 nothing like a winter wedding 鈥� very atmospheric, and a welcome excuse for a party in the dark days of the year. Last Saturday I was blessed to take part in the marriage of Abby and George in Yorkshire. Adorned in her splendid red, hooded cloak, Abby and her handsome prince looked stunning as they left the church in a cascade of confetti.

Before returning home, Pat and I took a short break in the Peak District where, on Monday, we made the brisk walk up to Solomon鈥檚 Temple, a Victorian landmark outside Buxton. The heavy frost on the hilltop hardly ceded to the gentle warmth of the brilliant winter sun. For Pat, the climb was a satisfying marker after a knee replacement last year.听

Standing on the stone tower surveying the magnificent views of Buxton and the surrounding countryside, I snatched a quick selfie with the missus 鈥� and felt a visceral sense of gratitude.

It鈥檚 seven years since I suffered a heart attack, when I thought my life may be over. And now, here I am: still breathing God鈥檚 fresh air, still doing the job I love, still helping beaming couples say, 鈥業 will鈥�, still relishing a giggle with pals, still trying to offer something useful to the world.

Gratitude isn鈥檛 primarily about the things given to us, deserved or otherwise 鈥� the array of stuff we possess. Gratitude is a state of mind: being awake to life, in both its beauty and pain 鈥� being present to the myriad things, happy and sad which tell us we are alive and able to make of life what we will.

Unusually, Abby and George chose a wedding reading from the cosmologist, Carl Sagan, which said that though our planet is a mote of dust in the morning sky, the world is exquisite with so much love and moral depth, and we should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity life provides.听

For me, it doesn鈥檛 matter if we are religious or not, when we experience gratitude, we connect with the source of everything 鈥� whatever we call that.听

As the 13th century mystic, Meister Eckhart said, if the only prayer we know in our entire life is 鈥榯hank you鈥�, that will be enough.