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Posts from the ‘Abundance’ Category

Apr 24

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a place of encounter

“Any place is sacred ground, for it can become a place of encounter with the divine Presence.”
― David Steindl-Rast, A Listening Heart: The Spirituality of Sacred Sensuousness

“Try pausing right before and right after undertaking a new action, even something simple like putting a key in a lock to open a door. Such pauses take a brief moment, yet they have the effect of decompressing time and centering you.”― David Steindl-Rast

There’s a difference between pausing and delay.
Pausing marks time, widens the view, abundance overflows, gratitude ensues.
Delaying too long, narrows the view, scarcity overflows, options few.
Pause, center, come alive, deep breath, re-enter made new, create, contribute, give, receive.
The dance of pause and movement.
Sacred ground.

“Sometimes people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate department of life, the penthouse of existence. But rightly understood, it is a vital awareness that pervades all realms of our being… Wherever we may come alive, that is the area in which we are spiritual.”― David Steindl-Rast

Apr 12

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Undone

The Sun by Mary Oliver
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone–
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance–
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love–
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed–
or have you too
turned from this world–
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Efficiency
Progress
Checklists
Speed
Grind
More, more, more
Never enough
Multi-tasking
Getting ahead
Hacks
Shortcuts
Formulas
3 easy steps
The race

To where?
Why?
Are we having fun?

Things need to get done.
Many things do not need to get done.
Choosing where to put energy, effort, attention is where our power lies.
Relationships, generosity, kindness, asking, listening, empathy, meaning, purpose, joy, delight, laughter, frolic, presence, fully aware, awake and in awe.
May you choose to undo as often as do.
Putting down, creating space, stillness, rest, reflection, fun, wandering, lost in time for a bit.
Depth more than width.
Gratitude over gripping.
Turtle pace to see the view.
Joy, beauty, slowness, engagement, enthusiasm, energy and light.
May all of these be yours in both the doing and undoing.

“Above all, trust in the slow work of God.”― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Jan 15

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Why Shouldn’t We?

“Why shouldn’t we, so generally addicted to the gigantic, at last have some small works of art, some short poems, short pieces of music […], some intimate, low-voiced, and delicate things in our mostly huge and roaring, glaring world?”― Elizabeth Bishop

“Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live it?” – Caroline Myss

The day calls.
To not only get thing done.
But to discovery of what lies before us.
Pausing to notice.
Loving without expectation.
Wonder in awareness of beauty.
A song. A poem. A flower.
Fullness in the ordinary, simple and imperfect now.
Awe in possibilities overflowing.
Expand your thinking, open your heart and hope with great abandon.
Bask in details.
Delight in immensity.
Start where you are this moment and move out from there.
See what happens when we look with fresh eyes, awakened senses.
Why shouldn’t we?

“Just let go. Let go of how you thought your life should be, and embrace the life that is trying to work its way into your consciousness.”― Caroline Myss

Nov 22

Opt In and Opt Out

“It’s not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities.” – Kristin Armstrong

“your grass is green enough.”― Donna Ashworth, I Wish I Knew: Poems to Soothe Your Soul & Strengthen Your Spirit

May I Opt In to:

Patience
Kindness
Empathy
Listening
Trust
Curiosity
Growth
Faith
Learning
Grace
Joy
Peace
Beauty
Equanimity
Generosity
Understanding
Delight
Laughter
Gratitude
Grit
Praise
Awe
Resilience
Optimism
Wonder
Love

In turn, to make room for all of these multipliers, creators and expanders, may I Opt Out of all that diminishes, distracts and substracts:

Judgment
Accusation
Cynicism
Unforgiveness
Resentment
Jealousy
Comparison
Greed
Counting
Assumption
Opinion
Gossip
Anger
Spite
Despair
Hate
Othering
Ego
Rightness
Arrogance
Self-centeredness
Apathy

What we opt in and opt out of is a daily decision. Choose carefully, with intent followed by action. Green the grass your standing on now by opting in and opting out to change your perspective. Choose well, cast light.

“An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. – Jef Mallett

Oct 13

Instrument of Grace

“This is another day, O Lord…
If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently.
And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.”
― Kathleen Norris

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.”― May Sarton

Fruits of labor.
Harvest of effort and time.
Pause and praise.
We move to quickly on to the next thing.
Bypassing the depth and bounty of an ordinary days.
Slow down, sit, remain still.
Observe, notice, savor.
Grateful for abundance present and overflowing.
Emphasis on what is already present than what is missing.
What is already in our pocket.

“Treasure what you find
already in your pocket, friend.”― Ted Kooser, Braided Creek

Oct 8

Imperfect Present

“Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are ‘patches of Godlight’ in the woods of our experience.”― C.S. Lewis

“We spend most of our lives striving so hard
to earn our own permission to be at rest
where we are— when we could have done it all along.”― Ivan M. Granger

We keep hunting.
Fishing for one more thing.
For some fictional state called “when.”
“When” is now.
Not in the past or in some distant future.
It is right in the middle of the imperfect present.
In unexpected places.
In the midst of difficulties and frustrations.
Woven in moments through the day.
At rest where we are.
Overflowing in abundance.
We just need to put on new glasses.
Look closer.
Different expectations, different outcomes.
Not our definitions, rules or confinements.
Bigger, broader, deeper.
Ordinary days. Beauty abounds. Hidden right in front of you.

“What the heart recognizes
as liberation,
the ego sees
as theft.”― Ivan M. Granger

Jun 14

Dragonfly

“Magic is seeing wonder in nature’s every little thing, seeing how wonderful the fireflies are and how magical are the dragonflies.”― Ama H.Vanniarachchy

“Dragonflies hover on an abundance of air.”― Anthony T. Hincks

Dragonflies dancing.
Pausing to rest.
Summer sun and soft breeze.
A poem.
A song.
A declaration of light.
Abundance singing out loud in summer.
Reflect the light.
Bring the ease of summer wherever you pass through.
The dance of the dragonfly.
Magic and awe.
Good things.

“Dragonflies are reminders that we are light and we can reflect light in powerful ways if we choose to do so.”― Robyn Nola

May 22

Laden with Lilacs

“The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is – to bloom.― Yevgeny Zamyatin, “A Story About The Most Important Thing”

“Spring as always was in full bloom, the breeze laden with lilac, the brush flanking the path rustling with life.”― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

What lilacs lack in length, they make up in fragrance, in presence.
Bursting for only a short time but worth it.
Depth rather than length.
Brevity, reminding us to appreciate what and who we have while we do.
People. Places. Seasons.
Awake. Blooming. Life.
Notice, hold, be held.
While in it.
Gratitude over griping.
Beauty overflowing.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”― Seneca

May 12

Awash

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair…”― susan polis schutz

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.” – Wayne Dyer

Spring has taken up residence.
Color, bloom, fragrance awash.
We have arrived and are in the midst of fruition.
Bursting at the seams.
Dive in.
The beauty, fresh air, flowers blooming in abundance.
Stick the landing of daily presence and gratitude.
These are the days.
Full bloom.

“Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

Apr 16

Muchness and More than Enough-ness

“A baby is as pure as an angel and as fresh as a blooming flower.” – Debasish Mridha

“Don’t wait for things to be simpler, easier, or better. Life will always be complicated. Learn to be happy now. And know that no matter the time or day, it will always be now.” – Kobi Yamada, Finding Muchness

The joy of a child.
Wonder and awe.
Full-hearted.
Bright eyes.
Overflowing with abundance.
Hope. Joy. Imagination.
Enter this day with the wonder of a child.
The fullness of time.
The weight of this very moment.
Available now, no waiting in line.
Muchness and more than enough-ness indeed.

Muchness is full-hearted abundance of hope, joy, and imagination that each of us has when we come into this world. It is there for us to love, to dare, to dream, to create, and to live our best life.” – Kobi Yamada, Finding Muchness

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