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Posts tagged ‘Flowers’

Oct 14

Art of Reflection

“There is one art of which people should be masters – the art of reflection.” – Samuel Coleridge

Praying
by Mary Oliver

“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.”

When beauty, color, awe, delight knock.
Open the door.
Invite, allow, engage.
Listen. Look. Steep.
The art and gift of reflection.

“It is within the boundaries of reflection we are able to become aware of insights that can lead us to understanding.” – Kat Lahr

Oct 7

Daily Blooming

“We are sent into the world to live to the full everything that awakens within us and everything that comes toward us.”― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

“We put terrible pressure on our minds. When we tighten them or harden our views or beliefs, we lose all the softness and flexibility that makes for real shelter, belonging, and protection. Sometimes the best way of caring for your soul is to make flexible again some of the views that harden and crystalize your mind; for these alienate you from your own depth and beauty.”― John O’Donohue

Release the valve.
Judgment, assumptions, opinions, righteousness, othering, walls, bunkers, scarcity.
Open the windows, doors too.
Let fresh air in, deep full breath.
Yield.
Kindness, gentleness, ease, generosity, joy, beauty, light, compassion, abundance, love.
Soft, malleable, flexible, bendable, inviting, unknowing, welcoming, awake, attentive, curious, belonging.
Daily blooming, graced with love, deepest tranquilities.

“TO COME HOME TO YOURSELF May all that is unforgiven in you Be released. May your fears yield Their deepest tranquilities. May all that is unlived in you Blossom into a future Graced with love.”― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

Oct 5

1 Comment

Heart of Wonder

“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

“Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.”― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

To put down worry
To pick up awe
To take the long cut
To wander
Intention and attention to motion or pause
From the beginning to end of this day
May joy, laughter, light, gratitude be your companions
A soft heart open to wonder.

“So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown.”― John O’Donohue

Sep 12

1 Comment

If Only

“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

If only we held the present fully and completely.
If only we saw overflowing abundance and light.
If only we moved out in love and bypassed fear.
If only we laughed often, danced with abandon.
If only, why not is our first response.
To turning if only into YES! and…
New day, new way.
One single thought at a time, renewed and ready.
Choose a different path, arrive at a different destination.
May joy, peace, laughter, trying, ease be your path today, if only.

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Sep 1

1 Comment

Listen Closely

“Every flower blooms at a different pace.” – Suzy Kassem

“Why should I be unhappy? Every parcel of my being is in full bloom.” – Rumi

Expand, narrow.
Inhale, exhale.
Ebb, flow.
Expansion, contraction.
Rhythm, flow.
Ever blooming, slowly, suddenly, on time.
Seasons, cycles, circles.
Seed, root, bloom.
Divergence, convergence, emergence.
The song of a blooming flower.
Listen closely.

“If I listen closely, I can feel and hear the song of a blooming flower.” – Debasish Mridha

Aug 29

Wade and Leap

“I will wade out till my thighs are steeped in burning flowers
I will take the sun in my mouth
and leap into the ripe air” – e.e. cummings

“Settle in the here and now.
Reach down into the center
where the world is not spinning
and drink this holy peace.

Feel relief flood into every
cell. Nothing to do. Nothing
to be but what you are already.
Nothing to receive but what
flows effortlessly from the
mystery into form.

Nothing to run from or run
toward. Just this breath,
Awareness knowing itself as
embodiment. Just this breath,
awareness waking up to truth.”
― Danna Faulds

Breathe in the last days of summer.
Drink in the beauty of burning flowers, sun ablaze.
Fall harvest soon, but not yet.
Cusp of transition.
Summer still leading the dance.
Remain in this moment, aware and awake.
Steeped in gratitude.
Overflowing with ease.
Soft whisper of “Yes!”

“All you ever longed for is Before you in this moment If you dare draw in a Breath and whisper “Yes.”― Danna Faulds

Aug 25

2 Comments

Of Ordinary Beautiful Things

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

The Patience of Ordinary Things by Pat Schneider

“It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?”

May I always welcome different perspectives.
To broaden, deepen, expand.
To see the commonalities of humanity.
Belonging, acceptance, connection.
To invite intellectual humility to keep learning, understanding and growing.
To be kind, generous, considerate, assume the best.
Patient, allowing, inviting.
Opening windows and doors to let fresh air in.
To slow down, pause and savor.
To weave gratitude, wonder and awe into each ordinary day.
Transforming the journey into one of love.

Aug 24

Blushed with Beginning

“A life of ease is a difficult pursuit.” – William Cowper

“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

Good soil.
Scatter seeds.
Till.
Nurture.
Wait.
Lie low to be slow.
Tilling the soil too much does not allow the seeds to take root.
Let them be.
Time and timing.
Beginnings, middles, ends.
The blush of fresh beginnings just beneath the surface.
Rooting to bloom.

Aug 15

1 Comment

Stubbornness of Gladness

“Nature, like man, sometimes weeps from gladness.” – Benjamin Disraeli

“We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.” – Jack Gibert

Gladness, hope, joy, delight, awe, gratitude, optimism, wonder, beauty.
Not a side dish.
Not for someday when.
Not something we wait for, but pursue rigorously.
Not achieved in perfect circumstances.
Daily practices.
A decision to make again and again.
In our control.
Rigorous and gritty.
Intentional and powerful.
Serving to remind us that no matter where we are or what is going on, there is music in us.
That life resides in each day.
In connection, in small things, in the ordinary.
And in our stubbornness to find the good and true.
Choosing love over fear.

“Why do so many …settle for so little? I don’t understand why they’re not greedy for what’s inside them”― Jack Gilbert

Aug 7

1 Comment

Doorway to Thanks

“Listen to silence. It has so much to say.” – Rumi

Prayer by Mary Oliver

“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.”

May the beauty, life and vibrancy of summer prompt pause, praise, delight.
May the details of nature, a flower, creation prompt gratitude, joy, wonder.
May we get fresh eyes and awakened senses each day to see it all with reverence and awe.
Doorway to thanks, threshold to joy, cross over.

“Give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you. Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you. This five-minute-a-day regimen of appreciation and gratitude will help you to focus your life in awe.” – Wayne Dyer

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