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Posts from the ‘Hope’ Category

Feb 3

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Defiant Hope

“Again I resume the long
lesson: how small a thing
can be pleasing, how little
in this hard world it takes
to satisfy the mind
and bring it to its rest.”
― Wendell Berry, Sabbaths

“…And we pray, not for new
earth or heaven, but to be quiet
in heart, and in eye clear.
What we need is here.”― Wendell Berry

Five to one, positive to overcome negative.
Watch and guard what you take in.
What you put out.
Thoughts that lead to words to action or inaction.
Vitriol or encouragement?
Enthusiasm or apathy?
Generosity or ego?
Care, optimism, love, gratitude, kindness, peace, joy.
Offer these in abundance, without reserve, overflowing.
Small thoughts, words, acts.
The stuff of transformation and fruition.
A smile, eye to eye contact, reaching out, opening up, letting go.
Hope is strength, not weakness.
It understands reality, the odds, difficulty.
And chooses to respond rather than react.
To give rather than take.
To engage rather than sit idle.
Defiant hope, a powerful act, practice and commitment.
Be defiant daily.

“Hope is not naive, and hope is not an opiate. Hope may be the single greatest act of defiance against a politics of pessimism and against a culture of despair.”― Sharon Brous

Dec 5

Interrupted

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“The answer must be, I think, that beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.”― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

We interrupt autopilot, to-dos, busyness, chaos, boredom, ego, the monotony of this day.
To wake you up to gratitude, imperfect and amid struggle.
To laughter and joy woven into seasons of grief and loss.
To peace and ease in the backdrop of turmoil.
To quality and depth over quantity and surface.
To a new point of entry.
A return to self, the authentic not manufactured or curated.
A response to the still small voice.
A resounding Yes!
Life interrupted by lifeforce, goodness, light.
Plunge in.
To mystery, beauty, trust, hope.
A greater expanse awaits.
Be interrupted.
And changed.

“At some point we must plunge in to discover a greater expanse; yet when this broader horizon does appear, a new depth will open up at our point of entry.”― Edith Stein, Potency and Act

Nov 25

Hundredth Winds

“Love falls to earth, rises from the ground, pools around the afflicted. Love pulls people back to their feet. Bodies and souls are fed. Bones and lives heal. New blades of grass grow from charred soil. The sun rises.”― Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers

“This is the most profound spiritual truth I know: that even when we’re most sure that love can’t conquer all, it seems to anyway. It goes down into the rat hole with us, in the guise of our friends, and there it swells and comforts. It gives us second winds, third winds, hundredth winds.”― Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith

The sun rises.
The sun sets.
The in between, our canvas.
To paint.
To color.
To create.
Paint. Color. Create.
Hope. Joy. Love.
Hundredth winds to lift you up, keep you going with delight, holding hands on our shared journey.
Love is bigger, deeper, wider than all and anything else.

“Hope is not about proving anything. It’s about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us.”― Anne Lamott, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

Oct 19

Foreboding Aside

“The only way we can make the most of our lives is to make the most of our moments. Today, wherever you are, decide to stay. We can know the gifts that lie in the present only if we stay in it long enough to receive them.”― Cleo Wade, Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life

“it was time

so i said yes
i said yes to living
i said yes to loving
i said yes to being
my…
self
illuminated
and unafraid”

― Cleo Wade, Heart Talk Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life

Pandemic hangover.
New wars.
Economic struggles.
Incivility.
Loneliness.
Ongoing political noise with no action.
Many reasons for foreboding.

And yet, and yet.
Cynicism, despair, fear, complaining, judgment, division, anger and pining never changed the world.
Imagination, hope, inspiration, prayer, generosity, beauty, empathy, kindness, lightness, optimism, daring, effort, energy, compassion, understanding, action.
These are what change the world.
Foreboding aside and let’s carry on.
Moving from scarcity and stagnancy into abundance and action.
Peace. Joy. Delight. Resilience. Grit. Faith. Community. Connection. Light.
A resounding, reverberating, reignited YES to life and our ability to change it for the better.
And our responsibility to do so.

“Keep your inner world loving and hopeful and your outside world will begin to reflect exactly that.”― Cleo Wade, Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life

Oct 17

Standing on the Bridge

“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

“THE OLD WISDOM

When the night wind makes the pine trees creak
And the pale clouds glide across the dark sky,
Go out my child, go out and seek
Your soul: The Eternal I.

For all the grasses rustling at your feet
And every flaming star that glitters high
Above you, close up and meet
In you: The Eternal I.

Yes, my child, go out into the world; walk slow
And silent, comprehending all, and by and by
Your soul, the Universe, will know
Itself: the Eternal I.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

Go out and see the world with curious eyes.
Go in and see yourself with kind eyes.
Seek, listen, expand.
Senses reignited, sharpened.
Hope, a verb.
Light, a daily invitation.
Joy, the gift of presence.
Find the magic that resides in today.
Awaiting your arrival.
And participation.

“Hope is often misunderstood. People tend to think that it is simply passive wishful thinking: I hope something will happen but I’m not going to do anything about it. This is indeed the opposite of real hope, which requires action and engagement.”― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

Oct 12

Tenor

“six things make inner peace easier: not being afraid of change kindness toward others honesty with yourself intentional actions self-awareness gratitude”― yung pueblo, Clarity & Connection

“If grace is so wonderful, why do we have such difficulty recognizing and accepting it? Maybe it’s because grace is not gentle or made-to-order. It often comes disguised as loss, or failure, or unwelcome change.”― Kathleen Norris

Life lingers then twists and turns.
Slows and speeds up.
Rocky and smooth.
Steady state then sudden change.
Peace is borne within.
Separate from our circumstances and state.
A river, a root, an anchor.
Let grace, hope, joy and peace enter today.
To carry you through.
To lift you up.
To brighten, color, bloom.
To change the tenor of this day.

“None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months or a few years to change all the tenor of our lives.”― Kathleen Norris

Sep 3

Broad Places

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”― Henri Matisse

“Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.” – Psalm 118:5

In the struggles, the holes, the waiting, there is a broad place.
Where simple beauty, deep joy and hope resides.
Beneath the surface of fleeting feelings, flat assumptions and empty opinions.
Awaiting our arrival.
Inviting rest, ease, quiet.
See both flowers and weeds today.
Gaze longer at the flowers.
The current is moving.
The seeds are breaking open.
Life unfolding in each moment.
Blooming in the broad places and thin spaces of now.

“One day you will look back and see that all along, you were blooming.” – Morgan Harper Nichols

Jun 7

Hope Perching

“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.” – Rabindranath Tagore

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.” – Emily Dickinson

From before to after, hope remains.
Gritty and tough.
Light and persistent.
A thing with feathers.
Carrying us through.

Apr 22

Filled with Hope

“Give the present the gift of your full attention.”― Maggie Smith, Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change

“Start making yourself at home in your life as it is.”― Maggie Smith, Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change

Anchored in this day, pay attention.
Make yourself at home with what is as it is.
Keep moving, unfolding, unfurling.
Doing the work of hope, the dance of joy, the song of awe and wonder.
Breaking ground to bloom.
An earnest smile.
The power of one hopeful person.
A choir even better.

“Today I think of myself as a ‘recovering pessimist.’ I know that optimism is not at odds with wisdom. It’s quite the opposite. I think of cynicism as cool but lazy, while hope is desperately uncool—it has sweaty palms and an earnest smile on its face. What I know to be true is that one hopeful person will accomplish more than a hundred cynics. Why? Because the hopeful person will try.”― Maggie Smith

Feb 18

Hope is…

“Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, ‘Wait and Hope.”― Alexandre Dumas

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”― Emily Dickinson

Hope is …

assurance that the buds will unfold to colorful bloom
that time brings clarity and meaning, even if no explanation
patience yielding harvest
one more step, then the next
carbonated joy on an ordinary day
the same landscape, new eyes
belonging and acceptance
a field trip with no permission slip required
an invitation to rest and renewal
a mystery and promise
an anchor and a kite
available and free
contagious, keep spreading it
a crowbar out of complacency
a wake up call
endures and carries
forward motion and momentum
necessary
powerful and transformative
light

Hope is this and so much more
Full bloom around the corner.

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”― Shel Silverstein

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