“Beauty is that in the presence of which we feel more alive.”― Krista Tippett
“Taking in the good, whenever and wherever we find it, gives us new eyes for seeing and living.”― Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living
In this day.
Wake up your senses.
See beauty.
Drink in good.
Taste delight.
Color. Fresh air. Sweet fragrance.
Laughter. Light. Joy.
All withing reach.
Let them into your bones.
Strengthen your heart.
Lift your spirit.
Take in the good.
“Hope is an orientation, an insistence on wresting wisdom and joy from the endlessly fickle fabric of space and time.”― Krista Tippett
“the secret that our poets and philosophers have been trying to tell us for centuries, is that our longing is the great gateway to belonging.”― Susan Cain, Bittersweet
“In a world where perfectionism, pleasing, and proving are used as armor to protect our egos and our feelings, it takes a lot of courage to show up and be all in when we can’t control the outcome. It also takes discipline and self-awareness to understand what to share and with whom. Vulnerability is not oversharing, it’s sharing with people who have earned the right to hear our stories and our experiences. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
Show up.
Imperfect and authentic.
Salt and light.
Brilliant color, soft hue.
With energy and enthusiasm.
No permission or approval required.
Be yourself always.
As certain and welcome as the sunrise.
Keep showing up.
“when I’m prioritizing being liked over being free, I was much sweeter but less authentic. Now I’m kinder and less judgmental. But also firmer and more solid. Occasionally salty.”― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
“Silence is the language of Om. We need silence to be able to reach our Self. Both internal and external silence is very important to feel the presence of that supreme Love.”― Amit Ray, Om Chanting and Meditation
“Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life…all of our life.”― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World
May you give your mind a rest,
Your joints a stretch to loosen the concrete,
Exercise your face with a smile,
Expand your lungs with laughter,
Open your ears with silence,
Guiding and harnessing your energy, outlook, thoughts,
Unencumbered, untethered, unfolding into this day,
With joy, awe and wonder in your toolbox,
“Reality” will still be there when you return, but you will have changed.
“It is simply sitting silently, witnessing the thoughts, passing before you. Just witnessing, not interfering not even judging, because the moment you judge you have lost the pure witness. The moment you say “this is good, this is bad,” you have already jumped onto the thought process.
It takes a little time to create a gap between the witness and the mind. Once the gap is there, you are in for a great surprise, that you are not the mind, that you are the witness, a watcher.” – Osho
“Kindness is the only strength there is.”― Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion
“There’s no easy way to do this.
So do it right:
weep, laugh, watch, pray, love,
live, give thanks and praise;
comfort, mend, honor,
and remember.”― Thomas Lynch
Joy and struggle, pushing and pulling, awe and unknowing.
A current under the waves.
Lightning filling the sky.
Energy and power abound.
Harness and hold.
Enter and experience it all.
May generosity of heart, lightness of spirit and anchor of soul be your compass.
“Just assume the answer to every question is compassion.”― Gregory Boyle
“Poetry keeps the door open to awe and ensures that we will find our way through the broken heart field of wars, losses and betrayals to understanding, compassion and gathering together.”― Joy Harjo
“The day misspent,
the love misplaced,
has inside it
the seed of redemption.
Nothing is exempt
from resurrection.”
― Kay Ryan, Say Uncle
Forgive and be forgiven.
Let go to pick up new and fresh.
Allow worry but do not let it drive.
In the complexity, simplicity.
In the simplicity, complexity.
Amplify your heart to overcome narrow and surface, dig deeper.
Seeds of redemption.
Nothing exempt from resurrection.
Root, nurture, bloom in the soil of love.
“He spent too much of his time responding to disasters that never happened.”― Ann Cleeves, The Heron’s Cry
“Slowly slowly O mind…
Everything in own pace happens,
Gardner may water a hundred buckets…
Fruit arrives only in its season.”― Kabir
Take up residence where you are right now.
No someday when.
No used to be.
Simply now.
Eyes on the road ahead, not too far.
A step at a time.
Aware, awake and in tune.
Slow, feel the beating of your heart.
Dance, let your spirit soar.
In ordinary days, extraordinary resides awaiting your arrival.
“For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits, But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom, and
Light!”― Hafez, The Gift
“I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief… For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” – Wendell Berry
“Hope’s home is at the innermost point in us, and in all things. It is a quality of aliveness. It does not come at the end, as the feeling that results from a happy outcome. Rather, it lies at the beginning, as a pulse of truth that sends us forth. When our innermost being is attuned to this pulse it will send us forth in hope, regardless of the physical circumstances of our lives. Hope fills us with the strength to stay present, to abide in the flow of the Mercy no matter what outer storms assail us. It is entered always and only through surrender; that is, through the willingness to let go of everything we are presently clinging to. And yet when we enter it, it enters us and fills us with its own life — a quiet strength beyond anything we have ever known.” — Cynthia Bourgeault, Mystical Hope
Wild things of ordinary days made extraordinary with…
Hope
Grace
Aliveness
Faith
Delight
Curiosity
Exploration
Attention
Beauty
Adventure
Joy
Light
Love
May all of these wild things pulse through veins, a surge, an energy, a force.
Casting you into radical amazement, gratitude and a peace that passes understanding, defying explanation.
Enter it and let it enter you, taking a life of its own.
“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ….get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”― Abraham Joshua Heschel
“Bring me then the plant that points to those bright Lucidites swirling up from the earth, and life itself exhaling that central breath! Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light.” – Eugenio Montale
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:13-16
When your senses dull and light dims, restore and reignite.
Bud to burst.
Winter to spring.
Cloud to color.
Flavor and flame.
Spicy, bold and on fire.
Salt and light.
“Boldness doesn’t mean rude, obnoxious, loud, or disrespectful. Being bold is being firm, sure, confident, fearless, daring, strong, resilient, and not easily intimidated. It means you’re willing to go where you’ve never been, willing to try what you’ve never tried, and willing to trust what you’ve never trusted. Boldness is quiet, not noisy.” – Mike Yaconelli
“Each of us has an inner room where we can visit to be cleansed of fear-based thoughts and feelings. This room, the holy of holies, is a sanctuary of light.” – Marianne Williamson
“It draws no attention to itself, though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility, and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearisome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing. Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life. This shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs to a harvest of memory, spirit, and dream that has long preceded us and will now enfold, nourish, and sustain us. The gift of the world is our first blessing.”— John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
“Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” – Dale Carnegie
Do not allow this day to pass without noticing it.
Start with a smile and follow it to levity and light.
Release the drag of the past and the weight of tomorrow.
Color outside the lines.
Create something of value from today alone.
Guard your joy, fueled by enthusiasm, do your soul work.
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” – Samuel Ullma
“Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor E. Frankl
“Cast Light” is an invitation to release your inner light, your authentic self every day. Choose light and cast it to the world.
Featured Quotes
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”― Mary Oliver
“I do not understand the mystery of grace — only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.” — Anne Lamott
