I have always been, for as long as I can remember, a thinker, a person who ponders and reflects on things in depth. And while this can sometimes be an impediment to living, it is a veritable double-edged sword that, wielded rightly, can yield a more nuanced, examined, and satisfying experience of life than the one gained by a merely superficial take. And, so, I am working on wielding this sword rightly. This blog represents one small piece of that work.
I also hope that, perhaps, this blog will inspire you to consider giving thanks for, and (even better) to, those people who have made an impact for good in your life. If it does, I most certainly would like to know about it!
So why the name “10th Leper Gratitude”??
I have had a long, and difficult, journey with spirituality and faith over the years. At one point in time, I identified as an evangelical Christian. While I no longer have that conviction, there are many dimensions of that very complicated ideology which continue to resonate with me to varying degrees, one of them being some of the poignant Bible stories which provide us with the richest and most penetrating insights into reality, as well as into human nature.
One of those stories is a story about Jesus and his healing of ten people with leprosy. Now, at present, I have little (but, in truth, not no) interest in the questions of fact: Did he really heal them? Were these psychosomatic healings or outworking of a divine power and love? What kind of skin disease did they actually have? Etc. But what remains alive for me, and what is the reason why I chose this title for my blog, is this: When Jesus healed these people, nine of them went on their way, presumably grateful for the gift but never returning to say so; the tenth person healed, however, came back to Jesus and thanked him profusely, expressing his spontaneous joy and gratitude. This man, at least in some circles, came to be referred to as “The Tenth Leper.”
I myself am drawn to the 10th leper, and to the way that he responded to the gift that he had received. Many times, we receive gifts, and are inwardly grateful, but for one reason or another we never take the time to express our gratitude explicitly to the source(s) of our uplift and delight. To me, that is, at the least, a missed opportunity; at worst, it is a shame, because one rarely knows what a difference one has made unless someone actually tells us.
So this blog has been created to encourage the telling of our tales, and is dedicated to the promotion of sharing our gratitude with the ones that helped to engender it. My posts are my own attempts to tell such tales and to share said gratitude.
Please do not hesitate to be in touch. In fact, I hope you will.
Tom
10th Leper Gratitude 