l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle

the past few days have been a miserable attempt to stay warm in a house with an erratic heater. this morning, my mom and i were making some mango salsa and looking out the window at the seemingly (in our Georgian ignorance) greatly accumulated pile of snow. she sighed in contentment and turned to me, "aren't you so thankful that we have a house to keep out of the cold in?" here i am bundled up and cursing the broken water heater when i have shelter and food right in front of me. i have family and friends who love me, the opportunity to study at an educational institute, the freedom to devote myself to a belief in any divinity that i choose. Dante once said that God is not merely a blinding vision of glorious light, but that He is, most of all, l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle, the love that moves the sun and the other stars. mmm, this feeling of being loved by the almighty God of the universe is one that transcends all. what more do i need? yet, we still toy around with this insecurity about whether we have earned our happiness. when in reality, it was given freely to us. i want to be able to enjoy and be grateful for everything in my life.

"human discontentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. we're miserable 

because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws 

and resentments and mortality. we wrongly believe that our limited little egos 

constitute our whole entire nature. we have failed to recognize our deeper divine 

character. we don't realize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a 

supreme Self who is eternally at peace. That supreme Self is our true identity, 

universal and divine. before you realize this truth, you will always be in despair."

-elizabeth gilbert, eat pray love