Gratitude for the sense of the 'familiar'.

This morning in my quiet time I realized how the joy that comes from feeling good about my personality, accomplishments or circumstances - is nice but so different than deeper joy. First of all, the good feeling dependent on 'something' is so vulnerable because the very thing that brought the joy can bring shame at another moment!  Funny how the deeper joy is more about the familiar sense we've had since we were little. One of my earliest memories that brought that deeper sense was from watching an ant climb up a blade of grass. I was laid in the lawn of my midwest home in the summer time and maybe even in diapers! I was totally mesmerized and can remember that moment or probably, more correctly, that sense of eternity that I am calling 'familiar'. Circumstances or personality didn't enter in because there was a sense of no time and no space. That's the same familiar sense we can get now too. It is 'always' and it is not vulnerable at all. Hard for me to put words to exactly and yet I trust that those of you who have experienced this - know exactly what I'm talking about. Gratitude for the familiar!