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Posts tagged ‘Flowers’

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 29

Selection, Elimination, Emphasis

“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.”― Georgia O’Keefe

“I think it’s so foolish for people to want to be happy. Happy is so momentary–you’re happy for an instant and then you start thinking again. Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.”― Georgia O’Keefe

Bold color.
Shapes, hues, texture.
Curiosity and interest.
Focus and forefront.
The power of what we remove to see what is present.
Clarity, discernment, appreciation.
To find brilliance in each and every ordinary day, in small ways.
A good pursuit.
Selection, elimination, emphasis.

“Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that we get at the real meaning of things.”― Georgia O’Keeffe

Nov 24

To See Anew

“Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past.”― Anne Lamott

“I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We’re here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don’t have time to carry grudges; you don’t have time to cling to the need to be right.”― Anne Lamott

Unforgiveness. Resentment. Perfection. Judgment.
They get heavier the longer we carry them.
The stories we tell ourselves, about the past, about others, about self.
Loosen the binds, the rules, the roles, the excuses, the assumptions, the misunderstandings.
You get to write the story of this day, of the future.
Change the narrative.
The past is already written.
The good and the struggle.
The future need not be a repeat.
There will be more good, more struggle.
Unload the baggage.
Free up your hands for praise, gratitude, a warm embrace.
Become light enough to dance, sing, play.
Time is swift, finite, measured.
Do not waste it staring in the rearview mirror.
Keep your eyes on the road ahead and the scenery on new paths, off-trail.
Joy, sweetness, kindness, forgiveness, moving on, letting go, compassion, love.
These transcend, free and root us in the beauty of the present and possibility of the future.
New day, blank page.

“Each time we make a small choice toward justice, or buy fair trade, or seek to share instead of hoard, or extend mercy to those around us and kindness to those with whom we disagree, or say “I forgive you,” we pass peace where we are in the ways that we can. And God can take these ordinary things and, like fish and bread, bless them and multiply them. He can make revolution stories out of smallness.”— Tish Harrison Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life

Nov 8

Rooted in Possibility

“Nothing is worth more than this day.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

New day, fresh canvas.
Fertile soil to plant, nurture, prepare for bud and bloom.
In all seasons, even winter.
Rest, formation, emergence.
Pursuit of lofty goals of joy, delight, amazement daily.
Remain in the present, in this day fully.
Putting energy, effort, and attention on what is now, in your realm of control.
Perspective, attitude, response.
Soften, fluid, open.
Root in possibility, bloom in color.

“The highest goal that man can achieve is amazement.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Theory of Colours

Nov 6

Seekers of Sweetness

“Man’s main task is to give birth to himself. ”― Erich Fromm

“My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird — equal seekers of sweetness. Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn? Am I no longer young and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture. Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart and these body-clothes, a mouth with which to give shouts of joy to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is that we live forever.” – Mary Oliver

To give birth again and again.
Daily. In moments. Amidst ordinary.
Unfolding slowly.
Unfurling intently.
Color, texture, flavor, vibrancy.
Life all around to love.
All the ingredients for a delicious day.
May you be struck by awe, rapt by delight, held in grace.
Do your work, love the world, as it is right now.
Shouts of joy.

“Tell me, at what velocity does joy travel?”― Clint Smith

Oct 11

Emergence of Wonder

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

“I embrace emerging experience.
I participate in discovery.
I am a butterfly.
I am not a butterfly collector.
I want the experience of the butterfly.”― William Stafford

Change your mind.
Think differently about things for a minute.
Give the benefit of the doubt.
Offer second and third chances.
Longer glances.
Put space between stimulus and response.
Respond thoughtfully rather than react habitually.
Assume good intentions and be proven wrong.
Put down rules, judgment, assumptions to invite connection, expansion.
Foster understanding.
Don’t have an opinion about everything.
Offer empathy, compassion and kindness.
Watch what grows.

Keep looking for the good.
Be awed by beauty.
Carried by hope.
Surprised by joy.
Held in peace.

“But hope has an astonishing resilience and strength. Its very persistence in our hearts indicates that it is not a tonic for wishful thinkers but the ground on which realists stand.”― Kathleen Norris, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life

Sep 28

Shift Your Thoughts

“You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level.”― Eckhart Tolle

“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.”― Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

Some answers are yes or no.
Some multiple choice.
Both, and, plus.
Yes and no.
Most an essay.
Some unanswered, a mystery to be lived.
Nuance and complexity.
Listen. Inquire. Be receptive.
Be open to new paths.
Unexpected detours and delays.
Find ease, joy and delight right where you are now.
Allow the journey to unfold one step at a time.
Beauty emerging. New eyes to see it. Fresh legs to walk it.

“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.”― Eckhart Tolle

Sep 22

Taking in the Good

“Beauty is that in the presence of which we feel more alive.”― Krista Tippett

“Taking in the good, whenever and wherever we find it, gives us new eyes for seeing and living.”― Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

In this day.
Wake up your senses.
See beauty.
Drink in good.
Taste delight.
Color. Fresh air. Sweet fragrance.
Laughter. Light. Joy.
All withing reach.
Let them into your bones.
Strengthen your heart.
Lift your spirit.
Take in the good.

“Hope is an orientation, an insistence on wresting wisdom and joy from the endlessly fickle fabric of space and time.”― Krista Tippett

Sep 14

Top Heavy

“Cherish sunsets, wild creatures and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth.” – Stewart Udall

“Tell me a story of deep delight.”― Robert Penn Warren

Allow joy and delight to lift you up.
Top heavy with ease.
Awed by beauty.
Present and open to possibilities.
In giving.
In receiving.
Some days glide.
Some days bumpy.
Each day, the only place to be.
In both being and doing, more being.
Fertile, sacred, holy ground of becoming.
In ordinary days.
The crucible of our formation, fruition, transformation.

“The crucible of our formation is in the monotony of our daily routines.”― Tish Harrison Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life

Sep 13

Open to Wonder

“From wonder into wonder existence opens.” – Lao Tzu

“Personal growth is not a matter of learning new information but of unlearning old limits.” – Alan Cohen

May you breathe in fresh air of trying new things.
From clumsy to cadence.
Practice to pretty good.
Repetition and unfolding.
Seed. Bud. Bloom.
Putting down to create capacity to pick up.
Curiosity, wonder, inquiry.
Exploration, off-trail, awe.
Detour into open space today
Blank canvas. Box full of crayons.
Color outside the lines.

“An empty canvas is a living wonder… far lovelier than certain pictures.” – Wassily Kandinsky

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