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Posts from the ‘Gratitude’ Category

Mar 22

An Anchor Dropped

“Darkness deserves gratitude. It is the alleluia point at which we learn to understand that all growth does not take place in the sunlight.”― Joan Chittister

“Hope is an anchor dropped into the future. We feel you pulling us toward it once again.” – Kate Bowler, Jessica Richie, The Lives We Actually Have

I saw the sun yesterday.
I noticed it, pausing a moment.
An altar.
An upward anchor, a kite, a grounding.
The little things are enough, overflowing actually.
At our feet, surrounding us, holding us.
In words, but mostly in silence, in sheer presence.
In waiting, watching, witnessing.
Winter rain through the night.
Hastening the melting of deep snow, softening of earth, precursor to green.
Notice. Awe. Wonder.
Grace enters and sits right beside you on one side, hope on the other.
Love remains.
Holy. Sacred. Steady.

“Love is holy because it is like grace–the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.”― Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

Mar 7

Look Up, Blue Sky Breaking

“If a branch is too rigid, it will break. Resist, and you will perish. Know how to yield, and you will survive.”― Liezi, Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living

“Awareness is not a state you force. There is little effort involved, though persistence is key. It’s something you actively allow to happen. It is a presence with, and acceptance of, what is happening in the eternal now.”― Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Day begins with heavy snow.
Shoveling wet cement.
Cloudy skies as winter lingers.
Days end, the clouds part for a moment.
Sun beams through.
Blue sky shows off like she always does.
In the autopilot, the daily “to dos,” transactions and tasks, pause, yield, stop, look up.
Blue sky breaking.
Take it in.
Sponge in water.
Thirst quenched.
Beauty woven in the ordinary.
Wonder in the unknowing.
Look up.

“The magic is not in the analyzing or the understanding. The magic lives in the wonder of what we do not know.”― Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Dec 31

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730

Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein

Today marks two years – 730 days – of posting daily on Cast Light. In the beginning of 2021, after the reckoning and rocking of 2020, I decided to publish daily as a new habit, ritual and practice to anchor in the present and in gratitude. Each morning, new words on a blank canvas. I am sure there were plenty of misses but the practice of reflecting each morning and setting direction and intentions for the day made a difference to the quality of my life and I hope that it spilled over into others as well.

We are on this journey together. Light, beauty, optimism, gratitude, faith, empathy, humility, grace, hope, kindness, joy, laughter, love feed the soul, heart and mind. May you seek and find these daily to both witness and participate in your life to the fullest. Thank you for letting me share, for following along and for your generosity of attention.

Do new things daily to foster understanding, allow unknowing and create connection. Daily actions add up and compound. May 2023 bring peace, joy and light to all to make this world better by loving each other without condition.

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – Dalai Lama

Dec 18

Whatever is…

“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”― Rumi

“Finally, beloved…whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” – Philippians 4:8

Your thinking drives the car, sets the course, the destination for the day
Where actual control resides
Not by chance
Not by accident
Not other or outside
With intention and rigor, choose your thoughts
When they stray, get them back in line
Both hands on the wheel
Beauty, gratitude, attitude
Whatever is worthy of praise
Go there.

“As we enter the path of transformation, the most valuable thing we have working in our favor is our yearning.”― Cynthia Bourgeault

Dec 17

Profound

“Gratitude is, however, more than just an emotion. It is also a disposition that can be chosen and cultivated, an outlook toward life that manifests itself in actions—it is an ethic.”
― Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks

“On each threshold,
wisdom; at every doorway,
love; through every entry,
grace; with each beginning, peace.”
— Jan Richardson, In the Sanctuary of Women: A Companion for Reflection & Prayer

Thresholds, doorways, entries, beginnings, endings
The edge, the tipping point, the before to after
Transitions that lead to transformations
A blessing of courage to cross over, again and again
Overflowing grace that can never be explained or understood, merely accepted
Hope that runs deep, a current that pulls and pushes you forward
Joy that transcends conditions and circumstances
And gratitude to see it all with clarity, awe and praise.

“Offering a blessing is an act of profound hope. In blessing one another, we recognize and ally ourselves with the presence of God who ever works to bring about the healing of the world.” — Jan Richardson, In the Sanctuary of Women: A Companion for Reflection & Prayer

Nov 26

Poke Gratitude

“Living in a state of gratitude is the gateway to grace.” Arianna Huffington

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”― Helen Keller, The Story of My Life

In a sunrise, a sunset.
A walk, a run.
A poem, a song.
A flower, a flake of snow.
Quiet, a breeze.
A conversation, a glance.
A photo, a dance.
Poke gratitude, awaken to what already is awaiting encounter, praise, and awe.
An impulse to soar, falling into flight.

“The only real battle in life is between hanging on and letting go.”― Shannon L. Alder

Nov 24

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Thanks-Receiving

“The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.” – William Blake

“It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.” – B. C. Forbes

May you be open to receive, accept and be held in love.
Ebb and flow.
In and out.
Like breath.
A dance, a rhythm, a flow.
Receive and give thanks.
Plant seeds. Nurture. Harvest.
Happy Thanks-receiving and Thanksgiving.

“Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart.”― Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

Nov 11

Invite Gratitude In

“Does not the gratitude of the dog put to shame any man who is ungrateful to his benefactors?” – Saint Basil

“Gratitude, warm, sincere, intense, when it takes possession of the bosom, fills the soul to overflowing and scarce leaves room for any other sentiment or thought.” – John Quincy Adams

When scarcity enters the room, invite gratitude in.
When comparison fills the page, invite gratitude in.
When running on empty, invite gratitude in.
Gratitude, optimism and hope shift the narrative, change the story.
A act, a practice, an intention, an effort each day.
Invite gratitude in.
Be held in joy and delight.
Sing a new song.

“Fill the earth with your songs of gratitude.” – Charles Spurgeon

Oct 28

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The Life of Leaves

“In every change, in every falling leaf there is some pain, some beauty. And that’s the way new leaves grow.”― Amit Ray

“Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.”― Amit Ray, Meditation: Insights and Inspirations

Some pain, some beauty.
More beauty really.
Leave the nest.
Wings to flight.
Cycles, circles, seasons, new leaves ahead.

“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

Oct 25

Fight Them Daily

“All God wants of man is a peaceful heart.”― Meister Eckhart

“There were many terrible things in my life and most of them never happened.”― Michel de Montaigne

Eyes of the road in front and just ahead.
Not in the rearview mirror, not too far out.
Worry, opinion, assumptions, resentment, judgment, comparison suck the life out of life.
Time wasters, energy drainers.
Cynicism is like planting seeds in cement, nothing grows, nothing created.
Joy, beauty, peace, laughter, anticipation, gratitude, kindness, generosity, delight, wonder – balms for the soul, well-fillers, life-changers.
Cast light, change your world, change the world.

“We have to fight them daily, lake fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies.”― Etty Hillesum

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