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Posts from the ‘Encouragement’ Category

Mar 27

Gathering Counterweights

“When we take ourselves too seriously, we are at the risk of taking other things, including God, too lightly,”― James J. Martin, Between Heaven and Mirth

“This is not a ‘silver lining’ situation, where pain and injustice are minimized for the sake of flimsy optimism or playing nice. It’s not even about hoarding our favorite things. We are not guaranteed to have those things within our reach. The practice of gathering counterweights is about creating moments of sustenance from the raw materials of what we’re given. It is about holding everything in honest tension. Both/and. Our counterweights help us move forward and breathe through the heaviness.” – Shannan Martin

Goodness
Kindness
Generosity
Delight
Laughter
Flowers
A smile
Asking
Listening
Art
Music
Movement
Joy
Frolic
Counterweights
To gather and hold
A sense of imperfect yet palpable balance, ease
Atune, awake, off autopilot
Run the race, marathon not sprint
To fight the good fight
Of love, gratitude, peace
Precisely and on purpose
In the middle of the mess, chaos, noise, uncertainty
Long game, resilience, grit, grace
Make the world a little softer today for yourself and others
Cast light.

“What on earth can we do to make this sad and beautiful world a little softer for everyone?”― Shannan Martin, The Ministry of Ordinary Places: Waking Up to God’s Goodness Around You

Jan 23

Poetry of Pause and Presence

“We look about the world, by the light we have made, and realise it’s all vulnerable, and all worth saving, and no one can do it but us.”― Kathleen Jamie, Findings

“The way we are living,
timorous or bold,
will have been our life.”
― Seamus Heaney

Hope and grace
Kindness and laughter
Light and joy
Love

All present in this day, within
Amidst chaos, noise, busy
May we have sense and boldness
To choose these again and again
Over worry, fear, apathy

To love the live we’re shown
For this day will not come again
Poetry of pause and presence
To be made new.

“How perilous is it to choose not to love the life we’re shown?”― Seamus Heaney, Opened Ground

Jan 21

Spinning Wildflowers

“God is not a technician. God is an Artist. This is the God who made you. The same God who lives inside of you. He comes into us, then comes out of us, in a million little ways. That’s why there’s freedom, even in the blah. Hope, even in the dark. Love, even in the fear. Trust, even as we face our critics. And believe in the midst of all that? It feels like strength and depth and wildflower spinning; it feels risky and brave and underdog winning. It feels like redemption. It feels like art.”― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“If you ask a question, you
can’t stop there.
You must keep going.
You can’t stop there: World will
wave; will be
facetious, angry. You can’t stop there.
You have to keep on going.”
― Gwendolyn Brooks

Hope
Light
Joy
Laughter
Grit
Faith
Trust
Enthusiasm
Resilience
Stay strong
One step at a time
Keep going
Spinning wildflowers.

“I am somewhat of a meliorist. That is to say, I act as an optimist because I find I cannot act at all, as a pessimist. One often feels helpless in the face of the confusion of these times, such a mass of apparently uncontrollable events and experiences to live through, attempt to understand, and if at all possible, give order to; but one must not withdraw from the task if he has some small things to offer – he does so at the risk of diminishing his humanity.”― Bernard Malamud, The Fixer

Nov 21

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Lean Forward into the Present Tense

“Lean forward into your life…catch the best bits and the finest wind. Just tip your feathers in flight a wee bit and see how dramatically that small lean can change your life.”― Mary Anne Radmacher, Lean Forward Into Your Life

“living eulogy.
she danced.
she sang. she took.
she gave.
she loved.
she created.
she dissented. she enlivened.
she saw. she grew. she sweated.
she changed.
she learned. she laughed.
she shed her skin.
she bled on the pages of her days,
she walked through walls,
she lived with intention.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

Change it all to present tense – thoughts, words, actions
Dance, sing, take, give, love, create, dissent, enliven, see, grow, sweat, change, learn, laugh, shed, bleed, walk through walls, live with intention
Present tense, this day alone
Leaning, leaping, lunging into life – today
With joy, anticipation, grit, gratitude, grief, kindness, generosity, hope, fear, courage, laughter, faith, trust, enthusiasm, colors, sequins, confetti, sprinkles, persistence, grace, love.

“No such thing, the queen said, as too many sequins.”― Mark Doty

Nov 20

Keep Going, Don’t Miss the Scenery

“I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.”― Abraham

“Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen Hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

Onward
Slow but sure
Imperfection
Error
Adjust
Persist
Stumbles to be sure
When in a hole, stop digging
Take a break
Look up and around
Reset
Get up
Keep going, growing
Don’t miss the scenery along the way
Laughter, light, joy
Amid all of it
Present and awake
Never too late
New day
Light and easy.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”― Confucius

Oct 2

On the Bridge

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”― Jane Goodall

“Oh, the world needs those standing on the Bridge, For they know how Eternity reaches to earth In the wind that brings music to the leaves Of the forest: in the drops of rain that caress The sleeping life of the desert: in the sunbeams Of the first spring day in an alpine meadow. Only they can blow the dust from the seeing eyes Of those who are blind.”― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

Stand on the Bridge
Hem of Heaven
Holding beauty, awe, reverence, wonder
Daily decisions to engage, bother, contribute, care, participate, listen, be alive
Actions more than words but they both count, add up or diminish
Be kind, offer a smile, a warm embrace, enthusiasm, delight, empathy, connection
Gift of life
Open daily.

“We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place–or not to bother”― Jane Goodall

Sep 25

Dancing Light

“When the heart is open, good humor flows and the ego’s rigidity melts like snow in the sun.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

“May my words be truthful, encouraging and humble. May my words be kind and filled with care.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

Observer, glance to gaze
Third person to self, others too
Not to judge
Rather to offer kindness, a warm embrace
Assume there’s more to the story, beneath the surface
Choose goodness and light
Delight, encouragement, joy
Open heart and a lot more dancing.

“A person who is not afraid of looking like a fool gets to do a lot more dancing.”― Margaret Renkl

Sep 10

Just Bloom

“You do not just wake up and become the butterfly
Growth is a process.”― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

“bloom beautifully
dangerously
loudly
bloom softly
however you need
just bloom”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and honey

Unfold
Unfurl
Unravel
Break ground
Start again, repeat
Imperfectly
Brilliantly
Authentically
Blooming in all seasons
Joy in the little things, ordinary days
Catching and casting light
Just bloom, right where you are planted.

“May you always be the one
who notices the little things
that make the light pour
through, and may they always
remind you: There is more to
life and there is more to you.”
― Morgan Harper Nichols

Jul 5

Be a Lighthouse

“Stop trying to change reality by eliminating complexity.”― David Whyte

“Somewhere in every heart there is a discerning voice.
This voice distrusts the status quo.
It sounds out the falsity in things and encourages dissent from the images things tend to assume.
It underlines the secret crevices where the surface has become strained.
It advises distance and opens up a new perspective through which the concealed meaning of a situation might emerge.
The inner voice makes any complicity uneasy.
Its intention is to keep the heart clean and clear.
This voice is an inner whisper not obvious or known to others outside.
It receives little attention and is not usually highlighted among a person’s qualities.
Yet so much depends on that small voice.
The truth of its whisper marks the line between honor and egoism, kindness and chaos.
In extreme situations, which have been emptied of all shelter and tenderness, that small voice whispers from somewhere beyond and encourages the heart to hold out for dignity, respect, beauty and love.”
– John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

Soft whisper
Listen
Tender heart
Gentle soul
Smiling spirit
Be kind
Invite and embrace
Assume that you don’t know
Dive below the surface
Ask and tend
Hold out for dignity, respect, beauty, love
For one and all
Change the world
One small act at a time
Cast light

“If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear.”― Joanna R. Macy

Apr 10

Defying Gravity

“You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.”― Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

“A bird is safe in its nest – but that is not what its wings are made for.”― Amit Ray, World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird

A shift in attitude
An ounce of gratitude
A cup of encouragement
Putting down my way
For what is
Seeking and finding delight, joy and beauty
On ground of now
In the imperfect, unchosen, unexpected
Abundance in mystery, unknowing, wandering
Some days may be long, but the years are short
Use your wings
Defy gravity
Take flight in the sky of this day.

“The days are long, but the years are short.” – Gretchen Rubin

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