fortunate

I will never forget an episode that happened during my doctoral studies. One day, as one other doctoral student and I were comparing the Ethiopic and Syriac versions of one of the Parables of Enoch, our professor (James Vanderkam, of Book of Jubilees fame) stopped our discussion suddenly and remarked to us, "Do you realize how fortunate we are to be able to be doing this?"

Although it made an impression on me at the time, its import has only deepened through the years.