A sincere thank you –
One more slender thread
Holding me to you
Acknowledging the way our hearts
Are created within our mutual embrace.
I am grateful for your presence in my life.
I am grateful for the way you anchor my hope.
I am grateful for your breath upon my cheek
And your whisper in my soul.
Your love holds me together.
Thank you.
[photo by judy_and_ed per cc 2.0 via flikr]
Too often I start my day
With a list of things to do …
Or to do better.
I wake to ‘the first day
Of the rest of my life,’
And immediately try to remake it
In the shadow of yesterday’s errors.
I thrum my soul
With guilt or regret
For what was done poorly
Or not done at all.
I look to the future
But the windows are coated
With a film
Of leftover shoulds.
Guilt, you know,
Is really a poor motivator,
Though it is often the whip
Of first resort.
What if,
Instead of trying to fix,
I could learn to bless?
What if I could learn
To focus on the beauty,
Rather than the flaws?
What if I could wake
With a heart that is grateful
And hopeful
And full of blessing?
Now, there’s an idea.
Maybe I should fix that flaw …
Maybe I should add ‘gratitude’
To my list of things to do better.
AAAUGH! Another should!
But it makes me chuckle
And that might just be enough
To break the spell.
Satan is the Hebrew word
For ‘the accuser.’
True for me.
Today, at least,
I leave his curse behind.
And enter this day
With the blessing of beauty.
And I am grateful.
[photo is by James Walsh per cc 2.0]
joy in my flower bed
some quotations from those I admire:
“I believe this is a time to love without limit. This is a time to see no stranger. In doing so, we gather information for the kind of world we want, where no one is uninsured or disposable, where our policies and public institutions protect all of us.
And if panic or grief or rage seizes you suddenly, it’s okay. It means you are alive to what is happening. The work is to breathe through it. It becomes a dance – to panic, then return to wisdom; to retreat then find the courage to show up with love anyway.
I spend all day in fear. But tonight, I got quiet enough to hear the wise woman in me, and she said, “Breathe, my love. Like any long labor, we are going to take this one breath at a time.” “ – Valarie Kaur [photo from Flickr per cc 2.0]
“Right now I’m trying to take in psychologically, spiritually, and personally, what is God trying to say? When I use that phrase, I’m not saying that God causes suffering to teach us good things. But God does use everything, and if God wanted us to experience global solidarity, I can’t think of a better way. We are in the midst of a highly teachable moment.” – Richard Rohr [photo from Flickr per cc 2.0]
a future salad in my garden
“… As we struggle with our new circumstances and wonder what “normal” will be in the future, it’s comforting to be reminded that there’s familiarity all around us and within us.
Nature is doing its long-anticipated, seasonal thing. People are still showing kindness and love, if from a distance.
It’s a reminder that we, like God, are in the business of constantly weaving together the old and the new into something that will be filled with grace in its own ways.
And it will be very good. Challenging? For sure! But also good.” – Joe Kay [from his blog, with permission]
Brian McLaren offers some great wisdom on how to pray in the midst of crisis, posted as a daily meditation through the Center for Action and Contemplation, here. [photo from Flickr per cc 2.0]
All this … and a mysterious gift of hope, given, shared, welcomed.
Quiet Hope 