To Lay Hold of It

“What a torment it is to see so much loveliness passing and repassing before us, and yet not dare to lay hold of it!”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther
“I had been continually exhorted to define my purpose in life, but I was now beginning to doubt whether life might not be too complex a thing to be kept within the bounds of a single formulated purpose, whether it would not burst its way out, or if the purpose were too strong, perhaps grow distorted like an oak whose trunk has been encircled with an iron band. I began to guess that my self’s need was for an equilibrium, for sun, but not too much, for rain, but not always… So I began to have an idea of my life, not as the slow shaping of achievement to fit my preconceived purposes, but as the gradual discovery and growth of a purpose which I did not know. I wrote: “It will mean walking in a fog for a bit, but it’s the only way which is not a presumption, forcing the self into a theory.”― Marion Milner, A Life of One’s Own
Presence and wonder
Mystery and curiosity
Inviting and allowing
Riding the waves
Entering the current
Emergence and clarity
Slowing and savoring
Time, interest, engagement
Trusting the journey
Detours and delays
With joy, gratitude, grace
Gradual discovery
To lay hold of loveliness before
Found rooted in presence
In each new day.
“You cannot buy the right atmosphere or a sense of togetherness. You cannot hygge if you are in a hurry or stressed out, and the art of creating intimacy cannot be bought by anything but time, interest and engagement in the people around you.”― Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well




