We glibly talk of nature’s laws
but do things have a natural cause?
Black earth turned into yellow crocus
is undiluted hocus-pocus.

Piet Hein

These lines from Piet Hein point to the reason why so many different traditions celebrate festivals around this time of year, when they kneel and admire: out of pure wonder. Even people who are not connected to any religious tradition know this amazement. It is a basic attitude of the religiosity that is innate to all humans. All religions arise from it, as if from a common root.

When I saw the crocus blossoms in our outer cloister, it occurred to me to start this year’s Easter letter to you, dear Friends, with its picture. Awe-struck amazement at the mystery of life — an amazement that always comes to us in spring — is the first step towards trusting life. Should we not trust the life force that creates before our eyes miracles like a crocus flower? That very force works wonders also within ourselves.

Are we even aware of the miracles that occur in our own bodies? Every second, around 2.5 million red blood cells are formed and just as many die. And that’s just one example. What could it even mean to not trust this life force? And what works in us can also continue to work through us if we approach everything we encounter with trust in the power of life.

Today, the darkness that surrounds us on all sides is truly overwhelming. But trust in life will protect us from letting that darkness get inside of us. Life tends towards more and more aliveness on ever higher levels and achieves its goal in ways we cannot even imagine. We can trust that process. So, I wish you all the courage we need to carry the light of trust in life into our world.

Your brother David

Photo by Yoksel Zok


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Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

About the author

Brother David Steindl-Rast — author, scholar, and Benedictine monk — is beloved the world over for his enduring message about gratefulness as the true source of lasting happiness. Known to many as the “grandfather of gratitude,” Br. David has been a source of inspiration and spiritual friendship to countless leaders and luminaries around the world including Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Merton, and more. He has been one of the most important figures in the modern interfaith dialogue movement, and has taught with thought-leaders such as Eckhart Tolle, Jack Kornfield, and Roshi Joan Halifax. His wisdom has been featured in recent interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Krista Tippett, and Tami Simon and his TED talk has been viewed almost 10,000,000 times. Learn more about Br. David here.

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