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Posts tagged ‘optimism’

Mar 19

Cardinal Points

“If self is a location, so is love:
Bearings taken, markings, cardinal points,
Options, obstinacies, dug heels, and distance,
Here and there and now and then, a stance.”― Seamus Heaney, District and Circle

“Awake! arise! the hour is late!
Angels are knocking at thy door!
They are in haste and cannot wait,
And once departed come no more.
Awake! arise! the athlete’s arm
Loses its strength by too much rest;
The fallow land, the untilled farm
Produces only weeds at best.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Winter, spring
Spring, winter
Wintering rest
Spring rising
Fallow to fertile
Cardinal points
New creation unfolding
Within first, moving out anew.

“If you feel like you don’t fit into the world you inherited it is because you were born to help create a new one.”― Ross Caligiuri, Dreaming in the Shadows

Mar 1

Better Things Ahead

“Wherever you are, be all there.” – Jim Elliot

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”― C.S. Lewis

No map.
No list.
No destination.
But to be fully present.
Rapt attention.
Wander and wonder.
Imagination and anticipation.
The journey unfolding as you step into it.
To be here and awake.
Walk it out.
All of it.

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”― C.S. Lewis

Feb 26

Stop. Look Up.

“There is another alphabet, whispering from every leaf, singing from every river, shimmering from every sky.”― Dejan Stojanovic

“The sky is everywhere, it begins at your feet.”― Jandy Nelson, The Sky Is Everywhere

Signs, signals, wonders
All around
Awaiting our arrival, attention, tending
Whisper, invitation, welcoming
On this very ground, sky at your feet
To see the same in a different way
Pull over, stop, look up
Brilliant blue sky, big world, beauty abound
In the middle of the noise, chaos, distractions
Abundance in the noticing, awe, reverence
Fresh eyes, curious heart, open arms.

“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.”― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Feb 25

Hello Sunshine

“Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields…Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.”― Mary Oliver

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it.” – Mary Oliver

Loosen your grip.
Put it down.
Lighten up.
Make way.
Give into joy.
Smile spilling into laughter.
Song to dance.
Gratitude, grace, goodness.
May you bask here awhile.
Be made new.

“I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.”
― Mary Oliver, Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays

Jan 21

Spinning Wildflowers

“God is not a technician. God is an Artist. This is the God who made you. The same God who lives inside of you. He comes into us, then comes out of us, in a million little ways. That’s why there’s freedom, even in the blah. Hope, even in the dark. Love, even in the fear. Trust, even as we face our critics. And believe in the midst of all that? It feels like strength and depth and wildflower spinning; it feels risky and brave and underdog winning. It feels like redemption. It feels like art.”― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“If you ask a question, you
can’t stop there.
You must keep going.
You can’t stop there: World will
wave; will be
facetious, angry. You can’t stop there.
You have to keep on going.”
― Gwendolyn Brooks

Hope
Light
Joy
Laughter
Grit
Faith
Trust
Enthusiasm
Resilience
Stay strong
One step at a time
Keep going
Spinning wildflowers.

“I am somewhat of a meliorist. That is to say, I act as an optimist because I find I cannot act at all, as a pessimist. One often feels helpless in the face of the confusion of these times, such a mass of apparently uncontrollable events and experiences to live through, attempt to understand, and if at all possible, give order to; but one must not withdraw from the task if he has some small things to offer – he does so at the risk of diminishing his humanity.”― Bernard Malamud, The Fixer

Nov 18

Color this Day

“As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.”― Mary Anne Radmacher

“what if
we just
acted like
everything
was easy?”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

Travel lightly
Easy
Unencumbered
Untethered
Put down rocks of yesterday and tomorrow
Grace for this day
Abundance in presence
Joy on purpose
Cast light, color too.

“Begin each day as if it were on purpose.”― Mary Anne Radmacher

Nov 5

Roadblocks or Openings

“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.”― William James

“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.”― Steve Jobs

What not to do
Making space
For clarity, discernment, meaning
What to carry
What to put down
What not to pick up
Open to being changed
Rather than waiting for circumstances or others to change
Holding things lightly
Grace and gratitude
Ease, joy, delight
Choose your perspective, choose your state of being
Daily work.

“People don’t resist change. They resist being changed.”― Peter Senge

Nov 2

November Color, Light, Bloom

“Trees still grow after letting dead things go.”― Darnell Lamont Walker

“WELCOME NOVEMBER…

There is something about November that says ‘just keep going’.
We are not quite through the year yet the finish-line looms out of nowhere.
We are plunged into darkness by Mother Nature.
We are faced with the ‘season of joy’,
and yet many of us wonder where we will find it.

And I think November is a great time to take a little peek behind you,
and see just how much you’ve done.
To take stock of your achievements, your endurance,
your survival.
To rest, reinforce, before the festivities envelope us all.
Before beautiful new beginnings.

And most importantly, November is a time to seek out light.
As the natural order darkens, we must find it ourselves.
We must do whatever we can to brighten our day,
our home, the world.

Seek out light wherever you can my friends,
and pay no heed to those who condemn your sparkle.

You are much-needed.

Keep showing up, in that special way only you can do.
And show up for yourself too
(which can sometimes mean not showing up somewhere else).

This year has been hard.

Again.

But beautiful.

Again.

As is the way of life.

As is the way of life.” – Donna Ashworth

Music. Light. Dance. Color.
Partake, participate.
Keep showing up.
In all seasons.
Do not rank.
Do not discard.
Do not dismiss.
Be present, with vigor.
There is joy here.
To be found.
To be given.
To receive.
The way of life.
Well-lived, daily.
While in it.

“You are the music while the music lasts.”― T.S. Eliot

Oct 17

Infinite Expectations

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…”― Henry David Thoreau

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”― Henry David Thoreau, Walden or, Life in the Woods

Get out
Of your head
Of the constant stream of scarcity, doom and fear
Of opinions, judgment, assumptions, assertions, othering
Tonic of wilderness, play, laughter, beauty, light, joy
Abundance overflowing to partake in
My Dad taught us to always fill the gas tank when it’s half full, so you don’t run out
Don’t wait until it’s almost empty, on fumes
Fill ‘er up
Play, wander, explore
Slowing and savoring
Repeat often, be made new daily
Nature calls so we can reclaim our own true nature
To do the work for the long haul, with generosity and a happy heart
Stay awake
Live deliberately

“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

Sep 23

No Seed, No Bloom, Plant

“Our mind is like a field in which many seeds germinate.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

“Seed Thought Meditation is a form of mental martial arts. If we resist thoughts they will overpower us. But if we just step lightly out of their way, letting them come and go like birds flying overhead, we can use their energy to further focus our minds. ― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

What seeds will I plant, nurture, water, feed?
Thoughts, words, actions
My own, not others
All in my command and control
May I put my effort, energy and attention here
To cast light, color, joy rooted within
Walking in love, kindness and generosity
In the world, not of the world
Imperfectly, intentionally, with gratitude
Choosing well, living well.

“When my ego starts in with its judgments about what is wrong, what is not good enough, let me notice this pessimistic thinking and instead, see my blessings.”― Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles

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