Grace, Abundance and Glas Gabhna

I have to admit, I am carefully fond of the concept of grace and am well aware that it becomes an easily cringe-worthy term when thrown about carelessly. But humor me and see if you can gain a new understanding of it with the help of an ancient story told by poet and philosopher, John O’Donohue. The story is called Glas Gabhna and goes as follows:

“In the mountains near Carron, there lived a smith who had a magical cow. When she was milked, she could fill any vessel. The smith knew how valuable she was. He had seven sons and one of them always ‘stood to her’, or in other words watched over her. Over a long period of time, she gave an endless supply of milk. Even today one can see in that landscape certain bare patches where nothing grows. These were the places the cow was said to have lain down. Her fame and magic spread everywhere. One day, while on his watch, one of the sons fell fatally asleep. An old woman came by and saw the magical cow unguarded. She had a sieve with her and began to milk the cow into the sieve. She milked and milked. The milk flowed endlessly onto the earth until the cow fell down. When the son awoke, he saw the ground white with milk beneath the fallen cow. He went to call help. When the father and sons returned, the cow had gone away. She was never heard of again. Then some time after she had departed, seven streams broke forth from the spot where she had been milked. These are to be seen there today, the Seven Streams of Taosca.”

Orange County's Glas Gabhna?!

 So what does grace have to do with it? The way I see it, it comes down to how you treat what is dear to you in this life. Do you take your gifts for granted, or do you treasure and pamper them? Neglect your gifts and you will always feel like there is never enough. Conversely, an attitude of gratefulness can circumvent the lure of greed.

The reason I’m sharing this story with you is because of its relevance to our lives today. The blatant display of corporate greed that has been in the public eye since the economic crisis began is certainly one level on which we are faced with an aspect of gluttony. We live in a country rich in beauty, resources, intelligence, you name it, yet so many people feel empty, anxious, and meaningless. Have we become numb due to information overload? Overwhelmed by the myriad of choices? Blind to our own abundance? It often seems like we can’t see the forest for the trees. I am not saying this to point fingers; -all too often I am in the overwhelm myself.  I am saying it because I feel like becoming grateful is the first step out of the haze. Wouldn’t it be nice if the solution to numbness was as easy as a mental shift from “I wish I had” to “I’m grateful for”? Well, I daresay it’s a start. By making the choice to see what we have, we choose to become aware, and by becoming aware, we can start to act with the grace our attitude inspires.

Additionally, seeing and being aware of our gift makes us care with a whole new level of intensity. Perhaps that is grace. Personally, my cherishing of nature’s beauty has me engaged in a pretty sincere way. I think twice about what I consume, I support those who are fighting to protect this beauty and I process it in my artwork with hopes of sparking other people’s wonder. In short, I won’t let an old hag ruin that what I love. Instead, I choose to take care of what I treasure to the best extent that I can.

Carolin