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Posts from the ‘Wonder’ Category

Nov 30

Foothold

“Take time to see the quiet miracles that
seek no attention.”― John O’Donohue

“This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.”
― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

In the slowing
The pause
Of thoughts
Of motion
Of season
Of time
To rest
Empty out
Fill up
Create space
Heal and bind up
Wintering
Hibernation
Cocoon
Clearing the clutter
A respite from the noise
A freshness
A restoration
Not to stay but to prepare
Seed time
Before the threshold of bloom
Readiness to cross thresholds
To feel the earth anew
To find your feet again
To get up and move
In a different yet familiar place of becoming
Blushed with beginning
Fresh with possibility
Ready to dance with rigor
Sing a new song
Woven, bound and anchored in wonderment
Moving with ease and flow

“May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.”― John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong

Aug 2

Ground of Wonder

“What if wonder was the ground of our gathering?”― Ross Gay, Inciting Joy: Essays

“Because in trying to articulate what, perhaps, joy is, it has occurred to me that among other things—the trees and the mushrooms have shown me this—joy is the mostly invisible, the underground union between us, you and me, which is, among other things, the great fact of our life and the lives of everyone and thing we love going away. If we sink a spoon into that fact, into the duff between us, we will find it teeming. It will look like all the books ever written. It will look like all the nerves in a body. We might call it sorrow, but we might call it a union, one that, once we notice it, once we bring it into the light, might become flower and food. Might be joy.”― Ross Gay, The Book of Delights: Essays

To look through the eyes of love.
To stand on the ground of wonder.
To pay attention and see new in the same.
To teem, steep and overflow with gratitude.
To find joy woven into each day.
And delight waiting to dance.
Look longer.
Notice.
It just might be joy sitting next to you.

“The point is that in almost every instance of our lives, our social lives, we are, if we pay attention, in the midst of an almost constant, if subtle, caretaking.”― Ross Gay, The Book of Delights: Essays

Mar 27

Planting Trees You’ll Never See

“Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time.” – Diane Ackerman

“First day of spring
The whole world’s wakin’ up and turnin’ green
And everything connects to everything

It’s a beautiful design
It just takes love and faith and grace, a little time

We’re all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water
Trying to make it matter until our time to leave
One day, they’ll carve your name in stone
And send your soul on home

‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
Plantin’ trees we’ll never see”
– Lyrics to Amy Grant’s newly released song Planting Trees We’ll Never See

A drive, music turned up high.
Windows open to let spring air in, stale air out.
New music and familiar too.
A fresh playlist to enter a new season.
Winding roads to take.
Twists and turns.
Trees lining the path.
Small and big.
Scatter seeds. Pull weeds.
Planting trees you’ll never see.
Leave a legacy of love wherever you go.

Mar 17

Invite to Wonder

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.” – An Old Irish Blessing

“Every day brings new choices.” – Martha Beck

May you seek and find wonder, joy and light.
Carry it with you and plant it wherever you go.
Transcending circumstances into wonder if but for a moment.
To see possibility, entertain new thoughts, invite awe.
Curiosity and inquiry to expand and deepen.
New day, new choices.

“Wisdom begins in wonder.” – Socrates

Dec 12

faire le hiontas

“To love beauty is to see light.” – Victor Hugo

“Time itself comes in drops.” – William James

“Faire le hiontas” is Irish for “watch with wonder.”
Learn a new language.
Expand your view.
Language and composition add dimension and depth, connection and complexity.
Multiple answers rather than one.
The ego binds, the spirit sets free.
We forego wonder for certainty.
Ordinary for extraordinary.
Wide open spaces for protected forts.
Windows for walls.
Go to the edge of yourself and leap.
Cannon ball into deep waters of blue water and sky.
The place beyond your knowing, into other knowing and unknowing.
Breath in crisp clean air, partake in the sounds of quiet beauty.
Transform ordinary days by daring adventure of new thoughts free from opinion, assumption and judgment.
Exploration, mystery, imagination.
Watch with wonder.

“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.” – William Wordsworth

Nov 20

2 Comments

The Presence of Wonder

“You have been my friend … That in itself is a tremendous thing.” – E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” – E.B. White

The brilliance of animals is that they have figured out the power of wonder.
They know how to play.
They know how to rest.
They know how to forget.
They remain in lockstep with the present.
They are accepting without question.
A model friend.
And they unselfishly share it all with humans to lift up life a trifle.
May we all be as brilliant and generous.

“By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.” – E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

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