Generous beyond all reason

Julia ♦ February 11, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

For only $2.99, I got hyacinths to feed my soul while buying groceries to feed the rest of me.
How’s that for a generous life?

“This is among the oldest, deepest, most primal truths: the facts of life may be, at times, unbearably painful. But the core, the bones of life are generous beyond all reason or belief. Those things that ought to kill us do not. This should be taken as encouragement to continue.” — Augusten Burroughs

Perhaps the oft-repeated question should not be “why do bad things happen,” but rather, “where does all this beauty and abundance and joy and love and delight come from?” People of faith believe there is a divine wellspring of goodness that blesses our world even as it explains our existence and gives meaning to life. But surely even those who believe this planet evolved from a cosmic accident must agree that the bones of life, as Burroughs refers to them, are indeed generous in a way that defies easy description.

Did the sun break through your window this morning so brightly that waking up was a bit easier? Did your mailbox surprise you by containing a note from someone you love? Are the green shoots of daffodils beginning to pierce the frozen ground in your yard? Have you had a delicious cup of coffee or tea that jump-started your brain as it pleased your taste buds? Is a dog or cat lying nearby, exuding warmth and companionship?

Did you have the exquisite delight of buying a small gift that you know will be wanted or needed by someone dear to you? Are you wearing a comfortable sweater in your favorite color? Is beautiful music almost certain to be part of your day, playing on an amazingly inexpensive but sophisticated speaker that transmits the sound of a faraway orchestra? Can you imagine the faces of all those individual musicians, each of whom gave a lifetime of practice to bring you a symphony that never fails to bring tears of joy to your eyes?

I could go on and on, but really, I don’t need to. Chances are this post has you thinking spontaneously of the countless sentiments and supports and sensory surprises that color your day with happiness. Life really is, at its core, beautiful and generous beyond all reason. Even when things are at their worst, some part of me never doubts that primal truth. It is a rock-solid encouragement to continue.

Whether your day is wonderful, difficult or somewhere in between, I wish you many reminders of abiding beauty and the peace that passes understanding.

This post was first published seven years ago today. The blog is not designed for viewing on cell phones, but you can get a less distorted version of the photos if you click on the “view on blog” link at the top right of the screen. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, at the individual post views. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.