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Posts tagged ‘kindness’

Sep 16

Tend to the Garden

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” – Frances Hodgson Burnett

“I Choose Love…
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I Choose Joy…
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I Choose Peace…
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so I may live.

I Choose Patience…
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so, Rather complain that the wait is to long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I Choose Kindness…
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for that is how God has treated me.

I Choose Goodness…
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I accuse. I choose goodness.

I Choose Faithfulness…
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My friends will not question my word. And my family will not question my love.

I Choose Gentleness…
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I Choose Self-Control…
I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then when this day is done I will place my head on my pillow and rest.”― Max Lucado

Perspective and intention.
Abundance or scarcity, a bit of both.
Thoughts and words.
How they turn into action or inaction.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Gifts and fruits of the spirit.
For a world in desperate need.
Daily choices.
Choose well.
Love trumps fear.
Tend to the garden.
Cast light.

“A world of grief and pain
flowers bloom—
even then.” – Kobayashi Issa

Sep 14

Building Cathedrals

“May I be at peace, May my heart remain open, May I awaken to the light of my own true nature, May I be healed, May I be a source of healing for all beings.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

“There is an old story about three masons who are laying bricks. A man walks up to them and asks them each the same question: “What are you doing?” The first mason spits on the ground and looks up. “I’m laying bricks. What in hell does it look like I’m doing?” The second mason groans and mops his brow. “I’m earning a living.” The third mason looks up with light in his eyes and says, “I’m building a cathedral.” Who do you think feels most refreshed at the end of the day?”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

From laying bricks to building cathedrals
Of kindness
Possibility
Joy
Purpose
Empathy
Connection
Delight
Peace
In gratitude, grace, generosity of spirit
Keep building cathedrals each day
A brick at a time.

“Let me be open to all possibilities, living the full circle of my life in gratitude no matter when that circle is complete.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

Sep 11

Peace Be with You, Pass It On

“Let your mind be quiet, realising the beauty of the world, and the immense, the boundless treasures that it holds in store.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

“When we catch ourselves thinking belittling, judging, cynical or snide thoughts, we are on the way to surrendering old habits of mind and planting the seeds of kind, encouraging thinking. Awareness of our thought habits and the intention to change them is an important aspect of cultivating kindness.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

Kindness
Empathy
Concern
Compassion
Companionship
Common good
Recklessly scatter seeds of love
Rain of peace
Sun of grace
Cast light in words and actions

“May I learn to consider every circumstance of my day, and every person that I meet, as a teacher. Free me from the pitfall of idealization and disappointment, receiving every teaching as a gift—especially those that are not pleasing.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

Aug 8

The Gifts of Presence

“Be here now.”― Ram Dass, Be Here Now

“Presence doesn’t make a grand entrance.
It doesn’t need the spotlight.
It doesn’t always come with answers or certainty.

But presence stays.
It listens.
It breathes alongside you in the silence.
It says, “I don’t know what to say, but I’m not going anywhere.”

The truth is, we don’t remember every word someone said when we were struggling,
but we always remember who was there.
Who sat beside us.
Who made space for our feelings.
Who didn’t try to fix us or rush us through it.

That is the gift of presence.
It is not loud, but it echoes.
It is not everything, but it means everything.

True presence has boundaries.
It’s rooted. Steady. Clear.
It says, “I’m here with you, not instead of you.”

You can hold space without losing yourself in someone else’s storm.
You can show up without having all the answers.
You can offer compassion without taking it all on.

Real presence honors both people in the moment: the one who’s struggling, and the one who’s showing up.”
– Gabrielle Elise Jimenez

Presence
To others
Self
The world before us, beauty, quiet, chaos
Awake, available, attune
Attention rooted in now
Love well today
Find joy, give joy
They are woven together in the giving and receiving
Cast light.

“There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go.”― Frederick William Faber

Jul 25

Hope, Dare, Bother

“Hope is often misunderstood. People tend to think that it is simply passive wishful thinking: I hope something will happen but I’m not going to do anything about it. This is indeed the opposite of real hope, which requires action and engagement.”― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“Dare to Be

When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.
When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.
When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.
When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.
When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.
When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.
When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.
When times are tough, dare to be tougher.
When love hurts you, dare to love again.
When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.
When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.
When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.
When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.
When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.
When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.
Dare to be the best you can –
At all times, Dare to be!”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Interior resilience to respond rather than react
Ebb and flow of what comes in and what goes out
Daily choosing
Kindness, empathy, joy, laughter, play, gratitude, curiosity, encouragement, faith, trust, grace, peace, love
Planting seeds on the path you walk this day
Bear fruit
Hope, dare, bother.

“We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place–or not to bother”― Jane Goodall

Jul 21

1 Comment

Throwing Starfish

“the Heavenly Pivot, a turning point in life in which knowledge is worn into knowing, watching into joining, seeking into being, and struggling with truth is worn into inhabiting the truth of struggle.” – Mark Nepo, The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life

“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said, “It makes a difference for this one.” I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.”― Loren Eiseley

From knowledge to knowing
Watching to joining
Seeking to being
Make a difference today
Be kind, open doors, yield, be present, plant seeds of encouragement, love generously, hope fiercely, laugh heartily, cast light
And know that it’s enough, abundant and overflowing
Start and keep throwing starfish.

“The door is open. Go.”― Louise Erdrich, The Sentence

Jul 17

How About, Rather Than

“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words. ”― Rachel Naomi Remen

“And I think that’s what our world is desperately in need of – lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about.”― Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Connection rather than correction
Kindness rather than judgment
Empathy rather than criticism
Compassion rather than advice
Belonging rather than excluding
Humanity rather than othering
Listening rather than lecturing
Proximity rather than distance
How about the love
The only action that changes the world, others, self
Plant seeds, cast light, love in action
Transformational

“Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us, not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge, of rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence. It is hard to find. In its presence we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life. Silence is a place of great power and healing.”― Rachel Naomi Remen

Jul 5

Be a Lighthouse

“Stop trying to change reality by eliminating complexity.”― David Whyte

“Somewhere in every heart there is a discerning voice.
This voice distrusts the status quo.
It sounds out the falsity in things and encourages dissent from the images things tend to assume.
It underlines the secret crevices where the surface has become strained.
It advises distance and opens up a new perspective through which the concealed meaning of a situation might emerge.
The inner voice makes any complicity uneasy.
Its intention is to keep the heart clean and clear.
This voice is an inner whisper not obvious or known to others outside.
It receives little attention and is not usually highlighted among a person’s qualities.
Yet so much depends on that small voice.
The truth of its whisper marks the line between honor and egoism, kindness and chaos.
In extreme situations, which have been emptied of all shelter and tenderness, that small voice whispers from somewhere beyond and encourages the heart to hold out for dignity, respect, beauty and love.”
– John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

Soft whisper
Listen
Tender heart
Gentle soul
Smiling spirit
Be kind
Invite and embrace
Assume that you don’t know
Dive below the surface
Ask and tend
Hold out for dignity, respect, beauty, love
For one and all
Change the world
One small act at a time
Cast light

“If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear.”― Joanna R. Macy

Jun 25

Bloom Joy

“It is love alone that gives worth to all things.”― St. Teresa of Avila

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”― Anne Lamott

With the passage of time, I have fewer opinions, judgments, assumptions, need for certainty.
Assuming the best, that there’s more to the story.
Caring little about what “they say” I should do or not do.
Not bothering with approval, permission, acceptance.
Picking up fewer rocks to carry.
Owning less to walk softly, lightly.
Open heart, hands, fresh eyes.
To see the same differently.
Fear turns to hate, constricts, diminishes, condemns, narrows.
Love multiplies, invites, allows, welcomes, expands, deepens, seeks understanding, yields, connection.
Giving worth to all people, things, self.
Walk in love today.
A smile, laughter, a call, asking, listening, observing.
Transform your patch of the world.
Cast light, plant love, bloom joy.

“Thank God for the things that I do not own.”― St. Teresa of Avila

Jun 19

Take In and Give Out Good

“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

“But if I’ve learned anything, it is that goodness prevails, not in the absence of reasons to despair, but in spite of them. If we wait for clean heroes and clear choices and evidence on our side to act, we will wait forever, and my radio conversations teach me that people who bring light into the world wrench it out of darkness, and contend openly with darkness all of their days. […] They were flawed human beings, who wrestled with demons in themselves as in the world outside. For me, their goodness is more interesting, more genuinely inspiring because of that reality. The spiritual geniuses of the ages and of the everyday simply don’t let despair have the last word, nor do they close their eyes to its pictures or deny the enormity of its facts. They say, “Yes, and …,” and they wake up the next day, and the day after that, to live accordingly.” – Krista Tippett, Speaking of Faith

Fight the good fight.
Do not back down.
Do not despair.
Work to do.
Get to it.
Daily.
Love wins.
Long hard haul, worth the trip.
Journey and destination,
Till dry soil.
Dig deep to fertile soil.
Plant seeds.
Tend, nourish, feed.
Bloom love, kindness, curiosity, enthusiasm, resolve, joy, freedom, resilience, hope.
Cast light.

“Generous listening is powered by curiosity, a virtue we can invite and nurture in ourselves to render it instinctive. It involves a kind of vulnerability – a willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity. The listener wants to understand the humanity behind the words of the other, and patiently summons one’s own best self and one’s own best words and questions.”― Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

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