The following is excerpted from a talk by Rev. John Schule, pastor emeritus at the Federated Church in Edgartown. Reverend Schule gave the talk as part of a seminar at MIT entitled Time and Space.

Have you ever thought about the significance of the spaces between the notes of a piece of music? Without spaces we would not be able to enjoy the “music of the spheres.” Think of the infinite spaces between the past and present, the present and the future. If we took a breath, slowed down, we would enjoy “the music of the spheres” in our daily living. The value of just being lies in changing our perspective on ourselves. Without all our labels and roles, we can find our spiritual selves more easily. We return from our experience of being with greater serenity, which enhances all of the things we do.

What I surely know about time/space? It is short! It is rather sad that it took stage 4 angio neuro blastic T cell lymphoma to put an exclamation point on that awareness. Let me share with you what the last three years at Dana Farber taught me.

“What is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?” is a question asked by the poet Mary Oliver. For when it comes to living life, the most important thing is whether we take “this one wild and precious life” and sing and dance with the spirit of gratitude.

If the only prayer we ever say in our whole life is thank you that would suffice.

As Rabbi Harold Kushner asks: “Can we see the holiness in those things we take for granted — a paved road or a washing machine? If we concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, we will discover that our life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.”

When we choose not to focus on what we do not have, but are grateful for the abundance that’s present, we experience heaven on earth. Life is not about waiting for storms to pass, it’s about learning to sing and dance through the storms. We all have adversities. However, it is not the adversity but how we react to adversity that will determine the joy and happiness in our lives. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or can we, with gratitude, learn to sing, learn to dance, learn to count our blessings one by one?

As I walked around the campus today, I wondered how many give thanks for all the gifts given by people in the past, their names engraved in stone, bronze and brass?

Gratitude is our most direct line to God. If we take time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something for which to be thankful. Let us rejoice, as the psalmist rejoiced, in all things that are present. All else is beyond us.

As Winston Churchill once said: “An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity, a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.”

The life of Jill Kinmont Boothe is a powerful story. Jill was a U.S. champion skier when she graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1955. The issue was still on the newsstands when she crashed during the race, breaking her neck, which paralyzed her. Boothe, who died at 75, became a role model for her tenacious pursuit of altered dreams. She learned to use her neck and shoulder muscles to write and paint, studied German and English at UCLA and was a teacher for three decades. She was the subject of the 1975 film, The Other Side of the Mountain.

“To get mad doesn’t get you anywhere,” she said. “You sort of look for what’s good that’s left.”

It almost sounds too simple doesn’t it? But one word, gratitude, can change our attitude, can change our life, forever. For when it comes to life’s time and space, the critical thing is whether we take things for granted or take them with the attitude of gratitude.

In our time and within our space, as in every age, we need to see something which is stronger than death. So, while we live and have our being, let us be honest, be thoughtful, be helpful, be kind, be curious, be imaginative, be loyal, be positive, be loving, be hopeful, be just, be merciful, be humble, be grateful!

And as Christopher Robin said to Pooh: “Promise me you’ll always remember, you’re braver than you believe and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”