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Posts from the ‘Gratitude’ Category

Oct 14

Receiving of Giving

“FINDING FAITH IN A FLOWER
Sometimes when faith is running low
And I cannot fathom why things are so,
I walk among the flowers that grow
And learn the answers to all I would know.
For among my flowers I have come to see
Life’s miracle and its mystery,
And standing in silence and reverie,
My faith comes flooding back to me.”
― Helen Steiner Rice, A Collection of Encouragement

“Time is not measured
by the years that you live
But by the deeds that you do
and the joy that you give-
And each day as it comes
brings a chance to each one
To love to the fullest,
leaving nothing undone
That would brighten the life
or lighten the load
Of some weary traveler
lost on Life’s Road-
So what does it matter
how long we may live
If as long as we live
we unselfishly give.”
― Helen Steiner Rice

Kindness
Connection
Ease
Laughter
Beauty
Delight
Joy
Wonder
Awe
Gratitude
Grace
In a word, love
May you receive all today
Give it away freely too
Cast light.

“The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.”― Orhan Pamuk, My Name Is Red

Oct 6

Waiting for You, Everything

“There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.”: — Melody Beattie

Everything is Waiting for You
by David Whyte

“Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the
conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.”

Alertness
Attention
Awakening
Fresh eyes
New day
Brimming with possibilities
Woven in the ordinary
At our feet, in arms reach
Waiting for our participation
To not be lulled into complacency, counting, comparison
Grateful for this day
With things unfinished, cracked, imperfect
And so many good things too
Swelling presence
Easing into conversation with this day.

“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”: — Melody Beattie

Sep 30

1 Comment

Unhurrying

“Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus.”― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

“Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing…. Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.”― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

In slowing
Fullness of moments, days
In attention
Beauty in the backdrop comes to the forefront
In unknowing
Space opens to learn, relearn, grow
In reflection
Gratitude expands
In awe
Wonder and joy show up
In presence
Abundance overflowing

“Life is so urgent it necessitates living slow.”― Ann Voskamp

Sep 23

No Seed, No Bloom, Plant

“Our mind is like a field in which many seeds germinate.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

“Seed Thought Meditation is a form of mental martial arts. If we resist thoughts they will overpower us. But if we just step lightly out of their way, letting them come and go like birds flying overhead, we can use their energy to further focus our minds. ― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

What seeds will I plant, nurture, water, feed?
Thoughts, words, actions
My own, not others
All in my command and control
May I put my effort, energy and attention here
To cast light, color, joy rooted within
Walking in love, kindness and generosity
In the world, not of the world
Imperfectly, intentionally, with gratitude
Choosing well, living well.

“When my ego starts in with its judgments about what is wrong, what is not good enough, let me notice this pessimistic thinking and instead, see my blessings.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

Aug 27

Surprised by Joy, Rooted In Gratitude

“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

“Gratitude goes beyond the ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”― Henri J.M. Nouwen

How we think about things either adds weight or lightens the load
Gardener of grace
Discipline of gratitude
Surprised by joy
Bloom of generosity
Fresh water washing over ordinary, beautiful days
Awaken to delight woven in this day
Plant seeds, tend the field, harvest the bounty.

“Be surprised by joy, be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty in the midst of a barren desert, and be surprised by the immense healing power that keeps bursting forth like springs of fresh water from the depth of our pain.”― Henri Nouwen

Aug 21

Anchor and Kite

“Grace is the permanent climate of divine kindness; the perennial infusion of springtime into the winter of bleakness.”― John O’Donohue, Divine Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

“The best portion of a good man’s life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.”― William Wordsworth, Lyrical Ballads

Look longer.
Listen intently.
Breathe deeper.
Move out in love.
Anchor and kite.
A smile, laughter, enthusiasm, delight, generosity, gratitude, presence.
Infuse this day with joy.
Cast peace and light.

“It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”― Germany Kent

Aug 20

Summer’s Sunset

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”― Alan Wilson Watts

“Try to imagine what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up… now try to imagine what it was like to wake up having never gone to sleep.”― Alan Watts

Last weeks of summer.
Soak them in with joy, not lament.
Each season has its gifts and purpose.
Participate and partake in each one with enthusiasm and delight.
Unlearn, plunge in, never going to sleep.
To awe, wonder and beauty woven into each day.
Don’t miss the show.

“A scholar tries to learn something everyday; a student of Buddhism tries to unlearn something daily.”― Alan Watts

Aug 3

Radiance of Transfiguration

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness” – Dalai Lama XIV

“Dear God, Thank you for this new day, its beauty and its light. Thank You for my chance to begin again. Free me from the limitations of yesterday. Today may I be reborn. May I become more fully a reflection of Your radiance. Give me strength and compassion and courage and wisdom. Show me the light in myself and others. May I recognize the good that is available everywhere.”― Marianne Williamson, Illuminata: Thoughts, Prayers, Rites of Passage

Transaction to relationship
Efficiency to meaning
Speed to savoring
Transience to transfiguration
Awake to the good in this day, in others, in self
Beauty and light
In abundance, overflowing.

“Possibility is the secret heart of time. On its outer surface, time is vulnerable to transience. … In its deeper heart, time is transfiguration.” – John O’Donohue

Jul 2

Irreplaceable Aliveness

“we think that accomplishing things will complete us, when it is experiencing life that will.”― Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

“there is a great choice that awaits us every day: whether we go around carving holes in others because we have been so painfully carved ourselves, or whether we let spirit play its song through our tender experience, enabling us to listen, as well, to the miraculous music coming through others.”― Mark Nepo, Finding Inner Courage

Alive and awake in this day.
Each step along the way.
The path unfolding.
Walk it out.
Lean in.
Take hold.
Be held.
In joy, awe, laughter, delight.
Woven in ordinary days.
Extraordinary grace.

“We work so hard to get somewhere, to realize a dream, to arrive at some destination, that we often forget that though some satisfaction may be waiting at the end of our endurance and effort, there is great and irreplaceable aliveness in the steps along the way.”― Mark Nepo

Jun 23

Today’s Sky

“This sky
Where we live
Is no place to lose your wings
So love, love
Love.”
― Hafez, The Gift

“Now that your worry has proved such an unlucrative business,
Why not find a better job?”
― Hafez, The Poetry Pharmacy Returns

Above the noise.
Amidst the busy.
Beyond the doing.
Thin spaces.
Of slowing, pause, margin.
Listen, look, gaze.
Stop. Sit. Savor.
Grace and gratitude are at play.
The Real Fun of this day.
Full presence, active participation, wings in motion.
Cast light and love.

“Zero
Is where the Real Fun starts.
There’s too much counting
Everywhere else!”
― Hafez, I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy

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