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Posts tagged ‘Love’

Dec 9

Carpentry of Exquisite Beauty

“In our own lives the voice of God speaks slowly, a syllable at a time. Reaching the peak of years, dispelling some of our intimate illusions and learning how to spell the meaning of life-experiences backwards, some of us discover how the scattered syllables form a single phrase.”― Abraham Joshua Heschel

“Remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Know that every deed counts, that every word is power…Above all, remember that you must build your life as if it were a work of art.”― Abraham Heschel

What pen shall you write with today?
What brush and colors will you swirl on the canvas?
What song to sing loudly and proudly?
What dance will bring you gliding across the floor?

We create our days and our days become our life, one at a time.
Plant seeds of kindness, laughter, joy, compassion, attention, inquiry.
String syllables of poetry and prose.
Weave gratitude, grace, goodness.
Bloom love, peace, light.
Exquisite carpentry.

“As a carpenter can make a gibbet as well as an altar, a writer can describe the world as trivial or exquisite, as material or as idea, as senseless or as purposeful. Words are wood.”― Mary Oliver, Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poem

Dec 1

Small Pieces

“The waiting of Advent teaches us to live in increments, in small pieces rather than large chunks. Waiting also teaches us to measure our progress slowly.” — Reverend Holly Whitcomb

“Love, I think, is a gateway to the world, not an escape from it.”― Mark Doty

Lots of choices.
In our control.
Things to check off.
Next thing to rush off to do.
Activities over experience.
Or…
Slowing, kindness, presence, patience, awe, gratitude, forgiveness, generosity, reflection, curiosity, inquiry, wonder, laughter, joy, peace, love.
Daily decisions.
Choose well.

“At the end of my life, when I say one final What have I done?, let my answer be, I have done love.”― Jennifer Pastiloff, On Being Human

Nov 27

Gratitude, Thankfulness, Praise

“Pied Beauty
Glory be to God for dappled things–
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced–fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise Him.”
― Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins

“Thankfulness finds its full measure in generosity of presence, both through participation and witness. We sit at the table as part of every other person’s world while making our own world without will or effort, this is what is extraordinary and gifted, this is the essence of gratefulness, seeing to the heart of privilege. Thanksgiving happens when our sense of presence meets all other presences. Being unappreciative might mean we are simply not paying attention.” – David Whyte

Soft heart
Listening ear
Joyful stance
Warm embrace
Enter this day anew, fresh eyes
Free from expectations, demands, assumptions
Fully present, rapt attention, kindness, hospitality, light, laughter
Awake to beauty all around and within
Love well
Gratitude, Thankfulness, Praise
Happy Thanksgiving

“GRATITUDE is not a passive response to something we have been given, gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without and beside us. Gratitude is not necessarily something that is shown after the event, it is the deep, a-priori state of attention that shows we understand and are equal to the gifted nature of life.” – David Whyte

Nov 9

Invincible Summer

“Where there is no hope, it is incumbent on us to invent it.”― Albert Camus

“Find meaning. Distinguish melancholy from sadness. Go out for a walk. It doesn’t have to be a romantic walk in the park, spring at its most spectacular moment, flowers and smells and outstanding poetical imagery smoothly transferring you into another world. It doesn’t have to be a walk during which you’ll have multiple life epiphanies and discover meanings no other brain ever managed to encounter. Do not be afraid of spending quality time by yourself. Find meaning or don’t find meaning but ‘steal’ some time and give it freely and exclusively to your own self. Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe. And you need to be.”― Albert Camus, Notebooks 1951-1959

Invincible summer, in all seasons.
Curiosity, interest, exploration.
Attention, noticing, discovery.
Love, laughter, ease.
This day, not someday “when”
This day.
Cast light.

“In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” – Albert Camus

Oct 29

Walking Home

“When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are …
… lose all that. And you are constantly saying ‘You are too this, or I’m too this.’ That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”- Ram Dass

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”― The Dalai Lama

Find the beauty.
Daily.
It’s there.
Look longer.
Dive in, both feet.
Expand your heart.
Open your mind.
Curiosity. Joy. Kindness.
Love well.
Transform the world.
Walk each other home.

“Our work is to call each other home, to call to one another’s spirits and say, “This is for you. This is what it means to be human, to love and be loved. Let’s learn from one another as we go.”― Kaitlin B. Curtice, Native

Oct 22

Easily Overlooked, Look Again

“We ‘re all yearning for a wedge of sky, aren ‘t we? I suspect God plants these yearnings in us so we’ll at least try and change the course of things. We must try, that’s all” ― Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings

“The most significant gifts are the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered throughout our days.”― Sue Monk Kidd

In the details
Ordinary days
Delays, detours and distractions
Take a breath, a pause, hard stop
Look up, look in, notice with new eyes
What’s right before and in reach
Small everyday blessings
Awe, wonder, delight
Persist in love, joy, gratitude
Look again.

“And when you get down to it, Lily, that is the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love but to persist in love.”― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

Oct 18

2 Comments

Put Civil Back in Civilization

“What do you think success is?” asked the boy.
“To love,” said the mole.”
― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Ations by Shel Silverstein

“If we meet and I say, “Hi,”
That’s a salutation.
If you ask me how I feel,
That’s a consideration.
If we stop and talk a while,
That’s a conversation.
If we understand each other,
That’s a communication.
If we argue, scream and fight,
That’s an altercation.
If later we apoligize,
That’s reconciliation.
If we help each other home,
That’s a cooperation.
And all these actions added up
Make Civilization.
(And if I say this is a wonderful poem,
Is that exaggeration?)”

A smile
An extended hand
A warm embrace
Inquiry followed by listening
Put the “civil” back in civilization
Followed by kindness and connection
In proximity, we gain understanding
Be the bright spot in someone’s day today
Cast light

“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.”— Dalai Lama

Oct 14

Receiving of Giving

“FINDING FAITH IN A FLOWER
Sometimes when faith is running low
And I cannot fathom why things are so,
I walk among the flowers that grow
And learn the answers to all I would know.
For among my flowers I have come to see
Life’s miracle and its mystery,
And standing in silence and reverie,
My faith comes flooding back to me.”
― Helen Steiner Rice, A Collection of Encouragement

“Time is not measured
by the years that you live
But by the deeds that you do
and the joy that you give-
And each day as it comes
brings a chance to each one
To love to the fullest,
leaving nothing undone
That would brighten the life
or lighten the load
Of some weary traveler
lost on Life’s Road-
So what does it matter
how long we may live
If as long as we live
we unselfishly give.”
― Helen Steiner Rice

Kindness
Connection
Ease
Laughter
Beauty
Delight
Joy
Wonder
Awe
Gratitude
Grace
In a word, love
May you receive all today
Give it away freely too
Cast light.

“The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.”― Orhan Pamuk, My Name Is Red

Sep 26

Quiet Abiding Presence

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Teresa

Presence
by Gabby Jimenez

“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.”

May we be present to others.
In small, ordinary daily ways.
Show up.
Not to fix, frame, platitude, solve, give advice.
To walk along side.
Often in silence.
Abiding and accompaniment.
Remembering that we belong to each other.
Though the world and my ego would disagree.
Love well today.

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.”― H. L. Mencken

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

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