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Posts tagged ‘wonder’

Jun 19

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A Rush of Wonder

“Can there be a benediction of deer on a chilly spring morning? I think so. Their otherworldliness stops the day in its tracks, focuses it on the hypnotic beauty of nature, and then starts the day again with a rush of wonder. There is a way of sitting quietly and beholding nature which is a form of meditation and prayer, and like those healing acts it calms the spirit.”― Diane Ackerman, Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden

“There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.” – Washington Irving

To reawaken.
Daily practice to master.
A pause to look longer.
A breath to anchor.
Thin spaces to broaden.
Magical things await.
Just outside the confines of old thoughts, stale rules, endless “to do” lists.
To be filled and made new.
Awe, wonder, delight await your attention and tending.

“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to sharpen.”― Eden Phillpotts

May 13

Sit, Stay, Look

“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.”― E.B. White

“… with men it’s rush, rush, rush, every minute. I’m glad I’m a sedentary spider.”
“What does sedentary mean?” asked Wilbur.
“Means I sit still a good part of the time and don’t go wandering all over creation. I know a good thing when I see it, and my web is a good thing. I stay put and wait for what comes. Gives me a chance to think.”― E. B. White, Charlotte’s Web

You have time to not feel time, to witness and partake fully in the present moment.
To think, or better, to not think, overthink.
To sit without looking at the god of the screen.
To check one thing less off the list.
To feel the weight and gravity of pause to refresh and renew, reorder.
Be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.
It awaits your attention, stillness, reverence.
Cease and desist.
See all the good things right in front of you.
The best place to be.
The glory of everything.
Here and now.

“It was the best place to be, thought Wilbur, this warm delicious cellar, with the garrulous geese, the changing seasons, the heat of the sun, the passage of swallows, the nearness of rats, the sameness of sheep, the love of spiders, the smell of manure, and the glory of everything.”― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

Feb 27

Alive to the Wonder

“The flower doesn’t dream of the bee. It blossoms and the bee comes.”― Mark Nepo

“Lord, this is the simplest prayer. Make it matter again. Color my grayscale vision with every shade of meaning, blues and purples and lilacs for purpose. Reds and pinks for every kind of love. Yellows for insights and ideas that sparkle. And if once cherished dreams need to fade, let them fade. Let me not imagine that each one of my plans must glue my future together. Surprise me. I regret saying that already, but let me come alive to the wonder of this day.” – Kate Bowler, Have a Beautiful Terrible Day

Make it matter again.
Not in grand gestures that fade quickly.
Not in my expectations, plans, demands, requirements.
Not in someday when.
Not in what was and is no more.
In this place, the present moment.
In the ordinary, beauty and color ablaze.
Come alive to the wonder of this day.

“Is the life I’m living the same life that wants to live in me? Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” – Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

Feb 14

Messenger of Wonder

“Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time.”― Diane Ackerman

“Of all the errands life seems to be running, of all the mysteries that enchant us, love is my favorite.”― Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of Love

Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday merge.
Love.
In all forms.
Earthly and transcendent.
Imperfect and perfect.
May you give and receive love each day.
And be transformed by it.
The only way the world will be.

“I will not dishonor
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace.
I will honor all life
—wherever and in whatever form
it may dwell—on Earth my home,
and in the mansions of the stars.”
― Diane Ackerman, I Praise My Destroyer: Poems

Jan 28

Wonder Eyes

“Only those who look with the eyes of children can lose themselves in the object of their wonder. ”― Eberhard Arnold

“When things get difficult remember who you are.’
‘Who am I?’ asked the boy
‘You are loved’ said the horse”
― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Kindness, hope, optimism, enthusiasm, joy, generosity, delight, empathy, compassion, awe.
These are what change the world.
The eyes of wonder. Of refreshment.
Go change the world.
One smile, one glance, one embrace at a time.
You are loved.
Pass it on.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Kind,” said the boy.”
― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Dec 13

Kneed the Bread

“Only in silence the word,
Only in dark the light,
Only in dying life:
Bright the hawk’s flight
On the empty sky.
—The Creation of Éa”
― Ursula K. Le Guin

“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven

Enter this day anew.
Fresh eyes, open heart.
A sense of wonder.
A seeking of delight.
A practice of awe.
Kindness, generosity, enthusiasm.
Love in action.
Kneed the bread.

“There is only one question:
how to love this world.”― Mary Oliver, House of Light

Dec 7

Astonishment

“Witness each moment in astounded jubilation. Take every holy breath in gratitude. Rejoice in life!”― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life

“A Permeable Life is about what presses out from the heart, what comes in at a slant and what shimmers below the surface of things. To live permeably is to be open-hearted and audacious, to risk showing up as our truest self, and embracing a willingness to be astonished.”― Carrie Newcomer, A Permeable Life: Poems & Essays

To unknow things.
To forget.
To be naive, or brilliant.
To see each day with astonishment, pause, praise.
A series of firsts, of surprise and enchantment.
Transformed rather than informed.
Wonder, awe, delight.
A place to not only visit but to set up residence.
To make home.
Wandering there often will work too.
Be interrupted by beauty, joy and delight each day.
Find what shimmers below the surface of things, of you, of others, of life.

“But why the last? I ask. Why not
live each day as if it were the first—
all raw astonishment . . .”
― Linda Pastan

Nov 14

In the Present Moment

“Life is available only in the present moment.”― Thich Nhat Hanh, Taming the Tiger Within: Meditations on Transforming Difficult Emotions

“May you live every day of your life.”― Jonathan Swift

Drop anchor.
Pause.
Hover.
Look longer.
Color, nuance, hue.
Breathe deeply.
In and out, repeat.
In the slowing, witness beauty.
Partake in quiet.
Put down the unnecessary.
Tune out to tune in.

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”― Thich Nhat Hanh

Aug 17

The Weight of Beauty

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“The sunlight claps the earth, and the moonbeams kiss the sea: what are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me?”― Percy Bysshe Shelley

Flowers in bloom swaying in the breeze.
Top-heavy and bursting.
Bending the branch, but not breaking it.
Waving to get my attention.
To break the trance of habit and autopilot.
Simple and filled with wonder.
Show stopper.
A prayer of gratitude for beauty that is cast carelessly and abundantly at our feet daily.
To awaken our senses.
Capture our attention.
Softening our grip on the unnecessary.
To put it down long enough to carry the weight of beauty.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Aug 3

Tremble

“The sacred is discovered in what moves and touches us, in what makes us tremble.”― Sam Keen

“Life leads us into its spaces slowly. We’re not sure what awaits us next. We set out to explore it, moving circumspectly, with a sense of anticipation then suddenly it opens up and teases us with its transparency.”― Bhuwan Thapaliya

Slowly then suddenly.
Then back to slow, steady, delay, detour.
Leave room for surprises.
For serendipity.
For communion.
Sacred sky opening up.
Holy ground we walk.
Explore and tremble.

“Soul grows in communion. Word by word, story by story, for better or worse, we build our world. From true conversation – speaking and listening – communication deepens into compassion and creates community.”― Sam Keen, Hymns to an Unknown God: Awakening The Spirit In Everyday Life

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