Skip to content

Posts from the ‘Belonging’ Category

Sep 5

Soft and Gentle

“the voice of beauty speaks softly; it creeps only into the most fully awakened souls”― Nietzsche

“Тhe gentle overcomes the rigid.
The slow overcomes the fast.
The weak overcomes the strong.”
…
“Everyone knows that the yielding overcomes the stiff,
and the soft overcomes the hard.
Yet no one applies this knowledge.”― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Like the petal of a flower.
The dance of a butterfly.
The hovering of a bee.
The gaze of a deer.
Soft and gentle.
Easy and slow.
Inquire, observe, wait for the answers to flow.
A river, always in motion beneath the surface.
Moving and swirling.
A current smoothing the rocks.
Awakening the soul.
Be soft, kind, gentle.
To self and others.
All just learning to fly.

“Be gentle,
Be compassionate,
Play nice,
Just remember that All
of us are learning how to fly.”― Charmaine J. Forde

Jul 18

The Path Together

“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow
Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead
Walk beside me… just be my friend”― Albert Camus

“Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.” – Henri Frederic Amiel

Same journey.
Different places.
Ahead. Behind. In step.
Winding then straight.
Some on trail.
Some breaking trail.
Struggling or at ease, or both.
Sometimes lost.
Sometimes found.
In the mystery.
In the searching.
In the clarity.
In the unfolding of the path.
We do not go alone.
Walk the path with others today.
Check in. Be present. Listen.
Be a friend.

“We should be willing to act as a balm for all wounds.”― Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life: The Diaries

Jul 3

Wide Angle Lens Living

“The sky is everywhere, it begins at your feet.”― Jandy Nelson

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Different perspectives.
New angles.
Diversity of thought and view.
Threads of commonality to bind, to hold together.
Expanding rather than contracting.
The world is rich, overflowing and abundant with color, beauty, light.
Put your energy and effort there.
A worthy use of time.
Wide angle lens living.

“Life is about perspective and how you look at something… ultimately, you have to zoom out.” – Whitney Wolfe Herd

May 13

In a New Way

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“i do not wish
to change the past
it made me
who i am today
i only want
to learn from it
and live in a new way”
― yung pueblo, Inward

Circling the same mountains.
Doing the same things, getting the same results.
When the horse is dead, dismount.
Pick new mountains to climb, not circle.
Do new things.
Keep going.
Live well in a new way.
Color. Beauty. Bloom.
Seasons. Cycles. Transformation.

“Become who you want to be while you can enjoy it. Don’t put off doing the work of becoming who you want to be. Waiting will not make it easier, and time is short.”― Kerry Egan, On Living

May 3

2 Comments

Sacred In-Between

“As life has a way of unfolding as it is meant to, I have learned to trust life.” – Linda Thompson

“Better to walk through life simply and without masks, than to lose ourselves in the pursuit of identities that are purely cosmetic and commercial. Then, at least, we will be known for what we are rather than for what we are not.”― Joan D. Chittister, The Sacred In-Between

The in-between is where life is.
The everyday.
The habits, routines, activities, thoughts, actions.
Not someday when in the future or if only in the past.
Right now is where we reside and choose our life.
Daily.
In decisions and in indecisions.
Slow to see your surroundings.
Quiet to hear what resides in your heart.
Trust your intuition, life unfolding and the Author of it all.
God is the Author and you are the co-author, so write your story.
Become who you already are, unfolding and unfurling.
Do not settle because of fear.
Fear is a liar and thief.
You belong with no need for permission or approval.
The sacred in-between, standing on holy ground, rooted, and planted.
The space between bud and bloom.

“We don’t change as we get older – we just get to be more of what we’ve always been.”― Joan D. Chittister, The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully

Feb 9

Stumble Upon

“Peace is not always easy to grasp or keep close. In the process of attaining and protecting it, you may find yourself tired, weary, and uncertain on how to keep your peace safe. While being uncertain is normal, continue to commit yourself to peacefulness. You are worthy of every drop of sweetness and ease that you encounter.”― Alex Elle

“The heart is resilient and forgiving, it is the mind that causes us stress.”― Alexandra Elle, Words from a Wanderer

A new day.
Move through with fresh eyes, open arms, soft heart.
An ease and flow.
An invitation and welcoming.
We will not pass through again.
Make it count.
Give and receive.
Inhale and exhale.
Praise and gratitude.
Joy and delight.
Inquire, observe, see the patterns and shapes.
How the pieces fit together.
How the pieces don’t quite fit yet.
Change what you can, let the rest be.
Knowing, but more unknowing.
Understanding and acceptance.
Patience and resilience.
Reframe, relook, refresh.
Malleable and porous.
Stumble upon and be held in peace, beauty and strength.

“I am thankful for my struggle because without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon my strength.”― Alexandra Elle

Jan 10

Continual Arriving

“Silence is a source of Great Strength.”― Lao Tzu

“To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.”― Lao Tzu

When the water pools, find the passage to the river.
Flowing and free.
Static to dynamic.
Separate to connection, belonging.
Real time awareness.
Reflection for witnessing.
Intuition and experience.
Beginner and wanderer.
Mystery and meaning.
Hold patterns and landings.
Beginnings and endings. Repeat.
Before, after and the in between where we reside the most.
Create the space and grace for the mix of it all.
The cycle of continual arriving.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”― Lao Tzu

Nov 9

A Tapestry

“We look at life from the back side of the tapestry. And most of the time, what we see is loose threads, tangled knots and the like. But occasionally, God’s light shines through the tapestry, and we get a glimpse of the larger design with God weaving together the darks and lights of existence.” John Piper

Worthy. Beloved. Connected.
We belong to each other and forget it daily.
Invite, welcome, embrace.
Self and other.
You belong and everyone else does too.
A smile, a please, a thank you, conversation, looking, listening, understanding.
A tapestry of love.

A Blessing When You Want to Belong by Kate Bowler

“Blessed are you playing the stories of who you are through your mind like a filmstrip.
Where you got your laugh or love of music or those terrible navigation skills.
You who can pinpoint yourself on a family tree.
You who know exactly WHOSE you are.

And blessed are you when you don’t belong.
When you can’t explain exactly how you ended up here,
Outside of what was acceptable.
But longing to fit in nonetheless.

Blessed are you in the alienation and the fear,
The “where will I find my people”
The confusion or anger or the still-wounded from unbelonging.
May you feel your own worthiness.
May you feel your own belovedness.
May you find yourself wrapped in a story larger than the one you can trace.
A story of love and hope and courage
A story truer than the one you’ve been told.

Blessed are all of us here, in this family of God.”

%d bloggers like this: