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Posts from the ‘Abundance’ Category

Aug 11

Break Trail

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Veer off trail, explore, wander
Fresh footprints on new land
Crisp air
Bathe and splash in beauty abound
Abundant possibilities
Take the path less traveled
Seize this day.

 

Aug 8

Holy Ordinary

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” — Henry Miller

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

It’s been a dry desert-like summer. Two mornings waking to soaking rain is sweet music. It is greening up the grass, softening the earth, clearing the smoky air from fires in Canada. We appreciate and value things more when they are absent. Gratitude invites us to live life in “real-time” when we are in the midst of it, not in memory.

“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present — love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.” –Sarah Ban Breathnach

Daily gratitude brings our blessings that we take for granted or pass by looking for the next thing to the forefront, center stage. Don’t just count your blessings, experience them fully in the moment. Commit to a daily gratitude practice and begin the adventure of abundance, ease and joy. Saying “thank you” throughout this day is a good start.

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach

Aug 7

Still Points

“I drank the silence of God from a spring in the woods.” – Georg Trakl

“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.”― T.S. Eliot

Stand still in body, mind and spirit
From the hustle and hurry of somewhere else
Allow ease in from quiet reflection
To the awareness that somewhere, some day is now
Pause long enough to see blessings already present
If gifts available in this moment are unseen, how will you ever recognize more?
Depth rather than shallow width
Stop counting and start receiving what is
Abundance beyond measure
Separate your being from circumstances so as not to be bound by them
Let gratitude, awareness and attention be your guide
Go from doing to accepting, to acknowledging, to praise
Receive, accept, absorb
Close your eyes, create still points and simply say “thank you”

“So Joseph stored up the grain in such abundance-like the sand of the sea-that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure.”-Genesis 41:49

Aug 3

Under Your Roof

“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” – Barbara Kingsolver

We make plans, set goals, do the work. Often, we don’t end up where we aimed for or we do and it’s not what we think it should be. Detours, delays, wrong turns are all apart of the trip. If we focus only on the destination, we miss the journey. Hindsight shows how it is all woven together, the path is clear over the shoulder. Going forward to new destinations requires trust, permeability and malleability.

Reignite your imagination, jumpstart wonder and learn how to dream again. Broaden your horizon with optimism rather than narrow and shallow it with rearview mirror thinking. Go into each new day into unknowing and inquiry, look for patterns and new connections in what is already present and available today. Hope, joy and enthusiasm – fuel for the journey, even to places and spaces not in our plans.

“Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life.” – Elie Wiesel

Jul 29

Deliberately

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”― Khalil Gibran

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…”― Henry David Thoreau

Shed the chaos
Tune out the noise
Narrow to go deeper
Plant seeds
Prune dead branches
Transcend the nonessential
Define your essential
Go there
Live deliberately.

“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”― Greg Mckeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Jul 28

Will and Wings

“Over and over, we are broken on the shore of life. Our stubborn egos are knocked around, and our frightened hearts are broken open—not once, and not in predictable patterns, but in surprising ways and for as long as we live.”― Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

“I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.”― Mary Oliver, Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays

When things get heavy, lay them down, even if but for a moment;
Worry left behind dissolves on its own;
Allow light in, a breeze to cool the room;
Gratitude reveals blessings amidst burdens;
No rules or boundaries;
Dream big, deep and wide;
Pursue with rigor;
Let your imagination off leash to run free and with abandon;
Rest on the shore of life and then enter the tide again;
The ebb and flow;
Give into radical joy;
Will and wings;
Defy gravity, take flight.

“Sometimes the simplest and best use of our will is to drop it all and just walk out from under everything that is covering us, even if only for an hour or so—just walk out from under the webs we’ve spun, the tasks we’ve assumed, the problems we have to solve. They’ll be there when we get back, and maybe some of them will fall apart without our worry to hold them up.”― Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have

Jul 22

Buffet

“The Amen of nature is always a flower.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Sit down at the table.
Bounty.
Beauty.
Abase and abound.
A buffet, an array of color, abundance and light is all around.
Linger, let it in, carry it forward.
Go.
Go.
Go.
A bit slower, held in grace, anchored in gratitude.

“Abundance is a process of letting go; that which is empty can receive.” – Bryant H. McGill

Jul 13

Vastness

“Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit.” – Romans 12:11

“Sooner or later, we come to the edge of vastness that has been there all along and we are forced to decide if we are visitors or if this is our home.” – Mark Nepo, Finding Inner Courage

Abundance
Zeal
Energy
Enthusiasm
Depth
Breadth
Width
Slow
Awe
Vastness

May you create half the space for these that you do for all of the weight you carry to walk lightly through this short life.
Watch and wait.
Invite and receive.
Come home.

“Lord, let not our souls be busy inns that have no room for thee or thine,
But quiet homes of prayer and praise, where thou mayest find fit company,
Where the needful cares of life are wisely ordered and put away,
And wide, sweet spaces kept for thee; where holy thoughts pass up and down
And fervent longings watch and wait thy coming.” ― Julian of Norwich

Jun 9

Weeds to Wishes

“Be still and the earth will speak to you.” – Navajo proverb

“However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.” – John Calvin

A member of the sunflower family, we’ve called the dandelion a weed, pulling them up before they spread through the yard. In traditional herbal medicine practices, the dandelion is revered for its medicinal properties. The flower is nutritious, contains antioxidants, fights inflammation, aids in blood sugar control, may reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure and may boost your immune system

“Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” —Native American Proverb

At the end of their bloom, children pick them up and blow on the delicate puffball to make a wish, scattering the seeds to the wind. From weeds to wishes, we can change our perspective through exploration, rapt attention and releasing old assumptions and stories that turn flowers into weeds.

“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.” – Voltaire

Scatter seeds, make wishes, pursue dreams. See the flower in the weed.

“May the stars carry your sadness away, May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, May hope forever wipe away your tears, And, above all, may silence make you strong.”– Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh

May 24

Cathedral

“May your heart be an altar, from which the bright flame of unending thanksgiving ascends to heaven.” – Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

What’s in front of you right now?
Where will you put your energy and effort today?
What altars are you kneeling at?
What fruit will you bear?
Do you see a pile of rocks or the makings of a cathedral?

Each day we make choices, actively or passively. Decisions that direct our path. What we take in, what we cast out, what we make of the material present and available within.

Make a hard stop. Take a deep breath. Look around. Then proceed. Choose your direction on the path that serves your becoming, expanding and unfolding. Finish the cathedral, rock by rock.

Grace. Gratitude. Great works.

“Keep alive within you and bring under wise control that courage which makes you long to undertake great works, which others might consider it folly to attempt.” – Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

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