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Posts tagged ‘Presence’

Aug 28

Stubborn Gladness

“We are all meant to be mothers of God…for God is always needing to be born.”― Meister Eckhart

“We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,
but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have
the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless
furnace of this world.”― Jack Gilbert, Refusing Heaven

Intuition, intention, trust
Seed, bud, bloom
Corners and crevices of delight
Ordinary and sameness transformed by presence and attention
To partake in the richness of this day
Free from analysis, measurement, comparison.
Living simply with gladness, grace, gratitude
Creation and re-creation.

“We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars.”― Jack Gilbert, The Great Fires

Aug 2

Sweet Nectar of Tending

“My experience is what I agree to attend to.”― William James

“Everyone knows what attention is. It is taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seems several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration of consciousness are of its essence. It implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.”― William James

Attendance, full participation in this day.
Autopilot off.
To do list aside.
Rapt attention, reverence.
Expansion of presence
Exploration, wandering, sensing.
Sweet nectar of tending.

“Genius, in truth, means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.”― William James, The Writings of William James

Jul 29

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Dew of Little Things

“I want a brighter word than bright”― John Keats

“In the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” – Kahlil Gibran

Refreshment of morning
Cast onto all things
Renewal, restoration, reclamation
Rejoicing rising from lament
Transformed and transfigured
In the dew of little things
Words brighter than bright
Fertile fields abloom
Glory ablaze.

“So I have taken up the tale
to tell it full and free.
The tale that makes the heart rejoice,
I tell it, for I have no choice—
I tell it till another voice
takes up the tale from me.”
― Malcolm Guite, Galahad and the Grail

May 18

Blooming in the Now Things

“May you always be the one
who notices the little things
that make the light pour
through, and may they always
remind you: There is more to
life and there is more to you.”
― Morgan Harper Nichols

“Living in the moment is learning how to live between the big moments. It is learning how to make the most of the in-betweens and having the audacity to make those moments just as exciting.”― Morgan Harper Nichols, All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living

Racing ahead
Focused on the “next thing”
Before partaking in the “now thing”
Root in this day
Slow down
Fill up
Look up
Light and beauty abundant in the ordinary
There’s blooming everywhere in and out.

“Even though you have learned the skill of running on empty, now is the time to learn the art of breathing deep all over again,”― Morgan Harper Nichols, All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living

Dec 17

Listening and Presence

“Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralysed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings.”― Jelaluddin Rumi , The Essential Rumi

“Be here now.”― Ram Dass, Be Here Now

Quiet
Pause
Listening and presence
Be here now
Full attention.

“Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it’s not out there is that it’s inside us.”― Sonja Lyubomirsky, The How of Happiness

Nov 21

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Lean Forward into the Present Tense

“Lean forward into your life…catch the best bits and the finest wind. Just tip your feathers in flight a wee bit and see how dramatically that small lean can change your life.”― Mary Anne Radmacher, Lean Forward Into Your Life

“living eulogy.
she danced.
she sang. she took.
she gave.
she loved.
she created.
she dissented. she enlivened.
she saw. she grew. she sweated.
she changed.
she learned. she laughed.
she shed her skin.
she bled on the pages of her days,
she walked through walls,
she lived with intention.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

Change it all to present tense – thoughts, words, actions
Dance, sing, take, give, love, create, dissent, enliven, see, grow, sweat, change, learn, laugh, shed, bleed, walk through walls, live with intention
Present tense, this day alone
Leaning, leaping, lunging into life – today
With joy, anticipation, grit, gratitude, grief, kindness, generosity, hope, fear, courage, laughter, faith, trust, enthusiasm, colors, sequins, confetti, sprinkles, persistence, grace, love.

“No such thing, the queen said, as too many sequins.”― Mark Doty

Nov 3

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To See Today’s Beauty

“To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man’s life.”― T.S. Eliot, The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.”― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

For eyes to see the beautiful thing
Ears to hear the symphony
Words for today
Stamina and resilience to stay and participate
Gratitude to root and anchor
Grace of presence
Light to cast
Love to offer
Devotion to what matters
Joy on the journey
A life’s work.

“Be committed to creating a life’s work, not a season. If you get overexcited and rush everything for fear of missing out, you run the risk of being a flash in the pan and fading away fast. Have the stamina to stay in the game. To do it for the devotion and pleasure alone.” – Rebecca Campbell, Rise Sister Rise

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

May 31

Altar of this Day

“Ô, Sunlight! The most precious gold to be found on Earth.”― Roman Payne

“I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Waves of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.
May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.
May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.”
– John O’Donohue, A Morning Offering, To Bless the Space Between Us

Interrupted by beauty.
Delayed by awe.
Tripped up by wonder.
Distracted by gratitude.
Detoured by grace.
Disturbed and changed.
To be made new.
And never go back.
Holy, reverent, sacred ground.
Beneath our feet.
On this and each day.
To fear no more.
Awakened soul.
Grateful heart.
Love alive and well.
Attention required.

“Dawn opens as the sky in spring and sunset as the banquet in heaven. But only the awakened souls can sense the feast.”― Jayita Bhattacharjee

Apr 30

Patches and Streams

“Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are ‘patches of Godlight’ in the woods of our experience.”― C.S. Lewis

“…May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love.”― John O’Donohue, Benedictus: A Book of Blessings

Ever-present
Curious, open, welcoming
In the details
In anticipation
In spontaneous, simple pleasures
Patches and streams of light woven through this very day.

“Everything in life opens and closes, sheds and renews. We are no different.” – Mark Nepo

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