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Posts from the ‘Awe’ Category

Mar 28

First Temples

“Forests were the first temples of God and in forests men grasped their first idea of architecture.”― James C. Snyder, Introduction to Architecture

“As we live and as we are, Simplicity – with a capital “S” – is difficult to comprehend nowadays. We are no longer truly simple. We no longer live in simple terms or places. Life is a more complex struggle now. It is now valiant to be simple: a courageous thing to even want to be simple. It is a spiritual thing to comprehend what simplicity means.”― Frank Lloyd Wright, The Natural House

Architecture
Convergence of science and art
Trees to forest
Bricks to buildings
Scaffolding to structure
Convergence, bridges, connectors
Cathedrals of beauty, nature, life
Simplicity, awe, wonder.

“the systems of mutual connections and influences of which we are generally unaware, but which we discover by chance, as surprising coincidences or convergences of fate, all those bridges, nuts, bolts, welded joints and connectors” – Olga Tokarczuk

Mar 23

Bringing to Life

“The natural world is built upon common motifs and patterns. Recognizing patterns in nature creates a map for locating yourself in change, and anticipation what is yet to come.”― Sharon Weil, ChangeAbility

“Tenderness is the art of personifying, of sharing feelings, and thus endlessly discovering similarities. Creating stories means constantly bringing things to life, giving an existence to all the tiny pieces of the world that are represented by human experiences, the situations people have endured and their memories. Tenderness personalizes everything to which it relates, making it possible to give it a voice, to give it the space and the time to come into existence, and to be expressed.” – Olga Tokarczuk

Easy to harden in this world.
To check out.
Autopilot.
Surface and skim.
Do not succumb.
Till the dry soil.
Let fresh air in.
Wander with wonder.
Anticipation, hope, joy, delight, tenderness, laughter, gentleness, enthusiasm.
Let beauty, light, grace in to awaken, abide, transform.
Easy threads weaving together the tapestry of this day.

“A gentle heart is tied with an easy thread.”― George Herbert

Mar 9

Anchor to the Sky

“Everything in life has a pattern and a coincidence is simply the moment when the pattern becomes briefly visible.”― Anthony Horowitz, Moonflower Murders

“Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart.” – Kate DiCamillo

Comma, Period.
Hard stop.
Look up.
Steep in beauty.
Pause in wonder.
Anchor to the sky.
Root in awe.
Peace. Light. Love.

“the birds … own nothing–the reason they can fly”― Mary Oliver, Felicity

Feb 9

Surrender to Air

“If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.”― Toni Morrison

“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

Freedom in not thinking I have all the answers
Of releasing the need to control what is not mine
Of picking up what is mine to carry
Of inquiry, wonder, reverence, imagination.

“The beginning is always today.”― Mary Wollstonecraft

Jan 31

Opening Doors, Crossing Thresholds

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”― William Blake

“There is a kindness that dwells deep down in things; it presides everywhere, often in the places we least expect. The world can be harsh and negative, but if we remain generous and patient, kindness inevitably reveals itself. Something deep in the human soul seems to depend on the presence of kindness; something instinctive in us expects it, and once we sense it we are able to trust and open ourselves.” – John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us

Releasing. Putting down. Untangling.
The weight of opinion.
The ties of judgment.
The gravity of assumption.
The certainty of knowing.
Into unknowing.
Lightness of being.
Generosity of spirit.
Asking. Listening. Witnessing.
Curiosity. Proximity. Complexity.
Kindness. Beauty. Grace.
Opening doors, crossing thresholds.

“In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.”― William Blake

Jan 7

To Lay Hold of It

“What a torment it is to see so much loveliness passing and repassing before us, and yet not dare to lay hold of it!”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther

“I had been continually exhorted to define my purpose in life, but I was now beginning to doubt whether life might not be too complex a thing to be kept within the bounds of a single formulated purpose, whether it would not burst its way out, or if the purpose were too strong, perhaps grow distorted like an oak whose trunk has been encircled with an iron band. I began to guess that my self’s need was for an equilibrium, for sun, but not too much, for rain, but not always… So I began to have an idea of my life, not as the slow shaping of achievement to fit my preconceived purposes, but as the gradual discovery and growth of a purpose which I did not know. I wrote: “It will mean walking in a fog for a bit, but it’s the only way which is not a presumption, forcing the self into a theory.”― Marion Milner, A Life of One’s Own

Presence and wonder
Mystery and curiosity
Inviting and allowing
Riding the waves
Entering the current
Emergence and clarity
Slowing and savoring
Time, interest, engagement
Trusting the journey
Detours and delays
With joy, gratitude, grace
Gradual discovery
To lay hold of loveliness before
Found rooted in presence
In each new day.

“You cannot buy the right atmosphere or a sense of togetherness. You cannot hygge if you are in a hurry or stressed out, and the art of creating intimacy cannot be bought by anything but time, interest and engagement in the people around you.”― Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well

Dec 30

Stunning

“The poetry of the earth is never dead.” – John Keats

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper” – W.B. Yeats

Stunning
Gorgeous
Magical
Jaw dropping
Breath taking
Spectacular
May each day be filled with these encounters
Places
Spaces
Outside your door
Front and center
Joy, delight, awe, wonder, gratitude
Ordinary days, senses ablaze
Get out and play.

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle

Dec 28

Roam Unfettered

“Let us be certain of who we want to be. Let us choose for ourselves our path in life, and let us try to strew that path with flowers.”― Émilie Du Châtelet

“If just looking could be so satisfying, why was I always striving to have things or to get things done? Certainly I had never suspected that the key to my private reality might lie in so apparently simple a skill as the ability to let the senses roam unfettered by purposes. I began to wonder whether eyes and ears might not have a wisdom of their own.”― Marion Milner, A Life of One’s Own

Enter with anticipation, not defined expectation
Cross with curiosity, not certainty
Traverse with enthusiasm, not guarded steps
Roam unfettered
Let your senses drive
Strew the path with flowers
Enjoy the journey, wherever it leads.

“The secret door to peace is to discard all the busyness.”― Hiral Nagda

Dec 13

Lurking Close at Hand

“In the stillness of quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.”― Howard Thurman

“There must be always remaining in every life, some place for the singing of angels, some place for that which in itself is breathless and beautiful.”― Howard Thurman

Slow time.
Blank canvas.
Stillness.
Close at hand.
Joy and Peace.
Remembered in real time.

“Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.”― Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart

Dec 11

Encounter and Reverence

“Awe, you see, is what moves us forward.”― Joseph Campbell

“We’re so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it is all about.”― Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Encounter
Majesty
Reverence
Gazing
Beholding
Noticing
In slowing, awe, wonder
Hidden in plain sight
Ordinary places and spaces
Awaiting our senses to tend, participate, awaken
Begin anew each day
Hearty yes

“The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure ”― Joseph Campbell

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