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Posts tagged ‘Peace’

Jan 31

A Little Bird, Broken Out of the Egg

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”― Robert Lynd

“Pan, who and what art thou?” he cried huskily.
“I’m youth, I’m joy,” Peter answered at a venture, “I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg.”― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

A lunch trip to the Como Conservatory to get a taste of the tropics in 10 below harvested a lot of beautiful flower pictures that will make their way into posts over the next few weeks.
On the way out, I noticed the door to the tropics room that I’ve never seen before so I wandered in.
Birds dancing about, water flowing, green ablaze.
A field trip, a recess, a playground of wonder and beauty.
You don’t have to pack your bags and get on a flight.
Find the silence, adventure and color in ordinary days and knit them tightly into the fabric of your being.
A conservatory, museum, a class await your arrival.
No permission slip required.
Awe guaranteed.

“Without birds, where would we have learned that there can be song in the heart?”― Hal Borland

Jan 30

Angel Wings

“Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.”― Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart

“In the stillness of quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.”― Howard Thurman

From stillness, an arising and awakening.
From reflection, an anchoring and tethering.
From quiet, a whisper of strength, courage, hope.

From the heart, a deepening and connection to a wellspring of love.
Brushed and brushing, the wisp an angel’s wing.
Joy and peace remembered, renewed.
Trailing beauty catches up.

“It is curious how one’s cup may be filled up by another and no words are passed to indicate the process that is taking place. . . It was as if, for a moment, I had been brushed by the angel’s wing.”― Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart

Jan 27

Full Immersion and Expression

“Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself, and all things possible.” – Thomas a Kempis

“What are the characteristics of the most wonderful people you know? The WONDERFUL ones? They said, Loving. Caring. Kind. And so I asked them, Is that not what success actually is? To be a wonderful person who touches someone else’s life?”― Julie Lythcott-Haims, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult

Above and beyond.
The extra mile.
Reaching out.
Going first to engage, not waiting or taking turns.
No calculation, measure, keeping score.
A smile that shouts “HELLO.”
An exclamation point.
A comma and semi-colon to pause.
Inquiry and observation.
A conversation, a real connection.
Listening to understand, not reply.
Responding with gentleness rather than judgment.
Generosity of spirit.
Soft heart.
A magnet.
Hospitality and welcoming.
Inviting and belonging.
This is love.
Tether and anchor in love and then go show it.
Loving. Caring. Kind.
This is how we save ourselves and the world.
The power of one, then another, and another…
No excuse of impossibility.
All things possible.
Light your wick.
Full immersion and expression.

“Compassion means the full immersion in the condition of being human.” – Henri Nouwen

Jan 14

Resuscitate

“It is written on the arched sky; it looks out from every star. It is the poetry of Nature; it is that which uplifts the spirit within us.” – John Ruskin

“Contemplation is waiting patiently for the gaps to be filled in, and it does not insist on quick closure or easy answers”— J. Patrick Boland and Richard Rohr, Every Thing Is Sacred: 40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ

Open space to wander, explore, inquire.
A slowness to go beneath the surface, above the noise.
Allowing and inviting mystery and unknowing.
Taking a recess from to dos and mindless activities to fill time to feel the weight and gravity of now.
Beauty, light, color, hues, detail, shapes, texture, clearing the residue of busy into the richness of reflection and renewal.
To resuscitate delight, awe, wonder, joy, gratitude, abundance, awareness, equanimity, discovery, praise.
All senses firing to see what is hidden in plain sight.

“How much greater is the God we have than the one we think we have.”― Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

Jan 13

If You Knew All

“To understand is to forgive.”― Pascal

“Forgetfulness is a form of freedom.”― Kahlil Gibran

Release the old.
The conversations.
Had and the ones you wish you had.
The hurts.
Received and given.
The disappointments.
Received and given.
The harsh words.
Received and given.
The judgment, assumptions, opinions.
Received and given.
The resentments that linger, bind, blind.
Forgive. Forget. Move on transformed.
A gift to other, mostly self.
An act of love.

“Be assured that if you knew all, you would pardon all.” – Thomas a Kempis

Jan 6

Seeing the Light

“I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking”― Albert Einstein

“Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body.

As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.” — Peter Chrysologus

On this day commemorating the Epiphany, may you open to wonder, discovery, and awe.
This world so easily hardens us but we are called to be softened, to love without measure, to be kind first.
May peace, joy and hope be stoked and awakened within so you can recognize your own epiphanies.
Followed by sharing your light with the world.

“Truth, by which the world is held together, has sprung from the earth, in order to be carried in a woman’s arms.” — St Augustine

Dec 31

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730

Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein

Today marks two years – 730 days – of posting daily on Cast Light. In the beginning of 2021, after the reckoning and rocking of 2020, I decided to publish daily as a new habit, ritual and practice to anchor in the present and in gratitude. Each morning, new words on a blank canvas. I am sure there were plenty of misses but the practice of reflecting each morning and setting direction and intentions for the day made a difference to the quality of my life and I hope that it spilled over into others as well.

We are on this journey together. Light, beauty, optimism, gratitude, faith, empathy, humility, grace, hope, kindness, joy, laughter, love feed the soul, heart and mind. May you seek and find these daily to both witness and participate in your life to the fullest. Thank you for letting me share, for following along and for your generosity of attention.

Do new things daily to foster understanding, allow unknowing and create connection. Daily actions add up and compound. May 2023 bring peace, joy and light to all to make this world better by loving each other without condition.

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – Dalai Lama

Dec 28

A Gentle Breeze, Cooling Mist

“Yet her encouraging words were a gentle breeze on my poor mind, and this is the work of the Holy Spirit and our operating instructions, to be cooling breezes to sad or worried people, including ourselves, in this sometimes hot stuffy joint.” — Anne Lamott, Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage

“Expectations are resentments under construction.” — Anne Lamott, Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage

May you be freed by forgiveness.
Lightened with hope.
Colored with enthusiasm.
Unbound by unmet expectations, allowing a different story to unfold.
A gentle breeze.
A cool mist.
Fresh air.
Inhale, exhale.
Give, receive.
Comfort, beauty, light abound.
Be held and embraced in new beginnings, joy unleashed.
Pass it on.

“Each act of forgiveness gives us more awareness of the beauty that surrounds us and of the friendly light inside, the tiny and usually ignored part that hasn’t been faked, cheapened, or exploited.”— Anne Lamott, Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage

Dec 25

Gifts and Radical Gratitude

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The baby, the star, and the wise men: a story of gifts and radical gratitude. Joy to the world!”― Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks

May the true meaning of home
Belonging
Comfort
Connection
Laughter
Acceptance
Silliness
Generosity
Be yours today and each day
May the story of Christmas be given and received by all
May we carry on changed, renewed and filled with a peace that passes understanding.

“The overarching narrative of the Bible is that of humanity searching for home.”― Diana Butler Bass, Grounded: Finding God in the World. A Spiritual Revolution

Dec 23

Yes, Virginia

“Oh, Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind.” — Kris Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street

“Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? – Virginia O’Hanlon

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.” – Letter to Santa, New York Sun in 1897

May the wonder of these coming days break through and open delight.
May love, generosity and devotion expose beauty and joy.
And may Santa Claus and Jesus be born in your heart.
Peace, hope, light to you and to all.

“Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.” – Francis B. Church Editor, New York Sun

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