Shifting the Focus

From the Morgan Greer Tarot, the Five of Coins; from the Celtic Book of the Dead, the Island of Trees:

At its core spirituality helps to give your life context. It's not necessarily connected to a specific belief system or even religious worship. Instead, it arises from your connection with yourself and with others, the development of your personal value system, and your search for meaning in life.

—Mayo Clinic

Rather than focus on loss and illness, the Morgan Greer suggests that our spiritual practice can be a great comfort in our distress. It can keep us tethered to what connects us and sustains us, offering us strength and a hope for change instead of obsessing about how bad things are. Passing by the Island of Trees, one of the seafarers broke off a branch that began to grow apples after three days, feeding them all for over a month. It suggests that we look for the simple things we can appreciate, even when we are going through hard times.  And as Ralph Blum stated, it can be transformative: "There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy."