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Posts tagged ‘Inspiration’

Nov 5

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Full Tilt

“Take every minute, one at a time. Don’t be fooled by a perfect sea at any given moment. Accept and rise to whatever circumstance presents itself. Be in it full tilt, your best self. Summon your courage, your true grit. When the body fades, don’t let negative edges of despair creep in. Allowing flecks of negativity leads to a Pandora’s box syndrome. You can’t stop the doubts once you consent to let them seep into your tired, weakened brain. You must set your will. Set it now. Let nothing penetrate or cripple it.”― Diana Nyad, Find a Way

I’ve been waiting for the new movie Nyad to come out on Netflix.
Watched it last night with friends.
Outstanding, inspirational and ass-kicking.
In 2013, I remember the television coverage of Diana Nyad coming up on shore after five attempts to swim Cuba to Florida.
Exhausted beyond measure, stumbling on shore, pausing to say three things:

“Never, ever give up. You’re never too old to chase your dreams. It looks like a solitary sport, but really a team effort.”― Diana Nyad

Four failures, victory on the fifth.

“I failed and faltered many times, but I can look back without regret because I was never burdened with the paralysis of fear and inaction.”― Diana Nyad

And she did it at 64 years old! – 110 miles. 53 hours. The first person to do this without the use of a shark cage for protection.

Amazing feat and wonderful reminder to keep going, do the work over and over, and not give up or be deterred by failures along the way. True grit, focus and toughness.

“Whatever your Other Shore is, whatever you must do, whatever inspires you, you will find a way to get there.”― Diana Nyad

So here’s to the “other shores” in life and to the resilience, commitment and hard work to keep pushing to get to the other side imperfectly, with failures, detours, delays and always getting up one more time than we fall.

Keep dreaming and pursuing. Never too old.

Jun 24

Reclaim the Sacred

“Reclaiming the sacred in our lives naturally brings us close once more to the wellsprings of poetry.”― Robert Bly

“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” – Marcus Aurelius

Reorient
Recalibrate
Redirect
Ground
Center
Anchor
Explore
Transform
Life, always in motion
Thriving
Cycles
Seasons
Spinning
Stopping
Starting
Changing
Evolving
Unfolding
Enter the flow
Move into the current
Reclaim the sacred

“Being human is not about being any one particular way; it is about being as life creates you—with your own particular strengths and weaknesses, gifts and challenges, quirks and oddities.”― Kristin Neff, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself

Mar 25

Cathedrals and Altars

“When once your foot enters the church, be bare.
God is more there, than thou: for thou art there
Only by his permission. Then beware,
And make thyself all reverence and fear.
Kneeling ne’er spoil’d silk stocking: quit thy state
All equal are within the church’s gate.”
― George Herbert, From the Temple

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The world is filled with cathedrals and altars.
Nature, heart, space and place, in others, in an embrace.
We need merely take notice, enter, drop to our knees.
May you see all of the places to run, to remain, to kneel today.
And do so.
Reverence. Awe. Wonder.

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

May 8

Phenomenal

A toast to all women on this Mother’s Day;
To both mothers and those who are not or may never be;
Not less, more than enough, worthy;
Nurturers, steel magnolias, warriors, brilliant, fierce, bold, soft, a mix of it all;
Celebrate, honor and fulfill your unique purpose in this life;
Embrace confidence, strength and your light.
You are phenomenal!

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”

Jan 11

Divine

“Caress the detail, the divine detail.” – Vladimir Nabokov

“Caress the detail, the divine detail.” – Vladimir Nabokov

“If you see with innocent eyes, everything is divine.” – Federico Fellini

The divinity of a flower, of purple, of color.
Of laughter.
Of a sunrise.
Of an embrace.
Of music
Of acceptance.
Of art.
Of belonging
Of no permission or approval needed.
Of poetry and prose.
Of possibility.
Of enthusiasm and encouragement.
Of optimism and hope.
Of threads and themes.
Of patterns and clarity.
Of tipping points and transformation.
Of dreams fulfilled, renewed and reignited.
Of it all.
Ordinary days, in the details, the divine awaits your arrival and companionship
Find the divine and revel in it.

“When your dreams turn to dust, vacuum.” – Desmond Tutu

Oct 29

Stones to Altars

“Prayer is a small fire lit to keep cold hands warm. Prayer is a practice that flourishes both with faith and doubt. Prayer is asking, and prayer is sitting. Prayer is the breath. Prayer is not an answer, always, because not all questions can be answered.”― Pádraig Ó Tuama, Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community

“So let us pick up the stones over which we stumble, friends, and build altars. Let us listen to the sound of breath in our bodies. Let us listen to the sounds of our own voices, of our own names, of our own fears. Let us name the harsh light and soft darkness that surround us. Let’s claw ourselves out from the graves we’ve dug. Let’s lick the earth from our fingers. Let us look up and out and around. The world is big and wide and wild and wonderful and wicked, and our lives are murky, magnificent, malleable, and full of meaning. Oremus. Let us pray.” ― Pádraig Ó Tuama, Irish Poet and Theologian

May you be hurled into the big and wide world, rapt in amazement, wonder and awe.
May you swim in the deep end of magnificent, murky and meaning, buoyed in the ebb and flow.
May you build altars to kneel in praise, gratitude and joy, from the stones and flowers in your path.
May Amen be woven throughout the beginning, middle and end of each day.
Let us pray, receiving and giving, blessed and awake.
Amen.

Aug 5

Joy Cannonball

The Triumph of the Soul

“Joy! Joy! I triumph! Now no more I know
Myself as simply me. I burn with love
Unto myself, and bury me in love.
The centre is within me and its wonder
Lies as a circle everywhere about me.
Joy! Joy! No mortal thought can fathom me.
I am the merchant and the pearl at once.
Lo, Time and Space lie crouching at my feet.
Joy! Joy! When I would reveal in a rapture.
I plunge into myself and all things know.” – Attar

Plunge into joy today.
Run off the edge of complacency and cannonball into deep waters of delight.
Dream again and then do what’s necessary.
Light the world with your own flame.
Do not go through this life with an unlit wick.
From wax string to flicker to dancing flame to melting wax.
Cast light.

“True inner joy is self – created.
It does not depend on outer circumstances.
A river is flowing in and through you carrying the message of joy.
This divine joy is the sole purpose of life.”– Sri Chinmoy

Jun 20

Masterpiece

“Art begins with resistance – at the point where resistance is overcome. No human masterpiece has ever been created without great labor.” – Andre Gide

“Your life is your canvas, and you are the masterpiece. There are a million ways to be kind, amazing, fabulous, creative, bold, and interesting.” – Kerli

Last Sunday as the morning was slowly unfolding by the lake, Liam sat next to me and drew this picture for me. He wanted to spell my entire name but ran out of space. Close enough. He explained that the two smiling hearts are him and me and the other hearts are my dogs Abby and Sasha.

It’s a masterpiece because it holds special time with him in conversation and simple presence on a quiet summer morning. Children draw from the heart, from intuition. They live from that vantage point too.

Daily, spend time drawing outside the lines, tuning into your heart space, tapping into your intuition. Create a masterpiece of your life through the strokes, lines and shapes of simple moments woven through each day waiting to be drawn by your attention, awareness and gratitude.

“That is what the intuition is for: it is the direct messenger of the soul.” – Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Aug 3

Angel of Hope

“God’s mercy and grace give me hope – for myself, and for our world.” – Billy Graham

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson

When in the heat of the moment, in the desire to react quickly rather than thoughtfully, at the very tip of weariness, hope wins when we choose it. Hope and joy are daily decisions that we need to consciously make again and again. Never let your guard down and let your joy be stolen by circumstances, stray thoughts or other people.

As Monday lived up to its reputation today, I thought of the Angel of Hope statute in Duluth that we walked by a few weeks ago. I was reminded to let it all go and enter grace, gratitude and ease. When your earthly journey becomes heavy, let go of the unnecessary and take flight.

Be kind, generous, grateful and filled with optimism especially when you don’t feel like it. Get your hope wings on. Look up and cast light.

Jul 5

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Wingspan

“There is nothing holier in this life of ours than the first consciousness of love, the first fluttering of its silken wings.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.” – Ray Bradbury

When a butterfly’s wings are together, they are thin as a piece of tissue paper, camouflaged amongst the flowers. Invisible. Unseen.

Oh, but when they expand. Oh, when they dare to expand. From east to west, wingspan broad, immense and heroic preparing for flight.

May we walk, better yet, may we float, fly and transcend though this life with wings spanned. Letting go, light as air and filled with delight and joy. Bright, brilliant and wider than we ever could imagine.

Expand your wings and discover their span. Take flight.

“I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?’ – Zhuangzi

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