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Archive for the category “be”

22 Nov 2015

a graceful feeling

Anything that you learn becomes your wealth, a wealth that cannot be taken away from you; whether you learn it in a building called school or in the school of life. To learn something new is a timeless pleasure and a valuable treasure. And not all things that you learn are taught to you, but many things that you learn you realize you have taught yourself.

― C. JoyBell

I spent my weekend with my amazing friends, Kitt, Mike, Rebecca and Christian Haberman, in Louisville.

I sum this powerful time of connection and sharing with this:

I learned things. Lots of beautiful things. Things I will have with me always. (Happy Sigh) I am so grateful for all of the great people I have in my life.

I stayed in the room below (Lesley Haberman being all grown up and off in college) and got ready with these messages before me, reminding me, filling my heart. Messages written by a beautiful, teenage girl to remind herself….remember…remember..

💞

Thank you, Lesley, thank you Haberman Family. Love is so very good to us!

What a beautiful world…

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, Choice, commitment, community, connection, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, Freedom, friendship, grace, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, healing, inspiration, Life, Love | Leave a comment

18 Nov 2015

some things are sad

 Every now and then we leave off our pious yearnings,

and even our righteous ire,

and sit down to the hard work  of being sad for the world.

It takes guts,

God knows—

not anger but sorrow;

it tires prophets and psalmists alike.

The wolf that cries in the long valley,

the sea that chants its lament

over and over with sighs and tears,

the hermit on sore knees,

 the angels at their posts

taking turns offering up their  aching hearts,

even Christ weeping,

they can’t do it alone.

In the end

it is  the broken hearted

in whom we find  the deepest companionship.

We come away wet with grief

yet oddly strengthened

with the fibers of hope.

In grief for the world

we touch its worth.

In sorrow we find each other,

and there,

the substance of joy.

Weird, isn’t it,

how that alone

is the healing balm we ask?    __________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

“Only he who cries… is permitted to sing…” is what Bonhoeffer said.
Only those authentic enough to lament, are authentic enough to love.
When everything is stripped away and you have nothing left and in all your bare vulnerability, there is communion with God.

– Ann Voskamp

💙

I am bare naked

Down to my bones

Even my comfortable skin is gone

I shiver as the cold blows through me

I have cried many tears

My song has been watered to full growth

Being alive does not come without cost

We love

we lose

we grieve

We lament

We love

We commune

We learn

We choose

to continue to make the choices

to love

to bring the song

that fills spring with joy

and the whole world

With light and love
AL

Posted in attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, Change, Choice, connection, courage, Grieving, Growth, Habits, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, music | Leave a comment

07 Nov 2015

just a thought

My life was the size of my life.

Its rooms were room-sized,

its soul was the size of a soul.

In its background, mitochondria hummed,

above it sun, clouds, snow,

the transit of stars and planets.

It rode elevators, bullet trains,

various airplanes, a donkey.

It wore socks, shirts, its own ears and nose.

It ate, it slept, it opened

and closed its hands, its windows.

Others, I know, had lives larger.

Others, I know, had lives shorter.

The depth of lives, too, is different.

There were times my life and I made jokes together.

There were times we made bread.

Once, I grew moody and distant.

I told my life I would like some time,

I would like to try seeing others.

In a week, my empty suitcase and I returned.

I was hungry, then, and my life,

my life, too, was hungry, we could not keep

our hands off our clothes on

our tongues from

💃🏻

My Life Was the Size of My Life by Jane Hirshfield

… and if what I desperately think I want doesn’t happen…God, and life, are still good…
😘

Posted in attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, courage, grace, Gratitude, Happiness, healing, laugh, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, music, mystery, Passion | Leave a comment

31 Oct 2015

tricky

So, I’ve been thinking about discipline- you know, the thing we think we need to find if we are going to do the things we know are good for us (like eating well, exercise, daily meditation etc.) I can clamp down with my will and pick up those aspirations daily- but at times it just feels like endless work, and sooner or later I run out of steam.
So lately, I’ve been trying something different. Instead of berating myself and insisting that today (or tomorrow) I will dig deep and find the necessary discipline, I’ve been thinking about giving myself gifts.
As in- today, I’m giving myself the gift of taking a walk in the autumn leaves, of taking my time in prayer and meditation, of making a wonderful stew for dinner. If I can keep my attitude in the range of doing something kind for myself (as opposed to doing something I think I “should” do) not only is it easier to create good self-care, it becomes about receiving that care with gratitude.
And that’s just a more enjoyable way to receive the gift of this day.

~Oriah

Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, ‘Never take candy from strangers.’ And then they dressed me up and said, ‘Go beg for it.’ I didn’t know what to do! I’d knock on people’s doors and go, ‘Trick or treat.’ ‘No thank you.’

– Rita Rudner

Posted in action, attitude, awareness, be, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, grace, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Happy Holiday!, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, mystery, nature, power, Relationships | Leave a comment

23 Oct 2015

be brave

Most of the greatest achievements on the planet are unknown to others – private overcomings, silent attempts at belief, re-opening a shattered heart. The real path of champions truly lies within – the transforming of suffering into expansion, the clearing of horrifying debris, the building of a healthy self-concept without tools. The greatest achievers have found a way to believe in something good despite being traumatized and fractured on life’s battlefields. No matter what else they accomplish in their lives, they are already champions. One day the world will realize that it is much harder to heal a shattered heart than excel at athletics. Go(l)d medals all around…
– Jeff Brown

They have told you to be quiet

since your crib,

when your needs, your cry for the divine

disturbed them.

You too have learned the command,

to silence your soul, to silence others.

Stand still and listen:

what is the voice within, crying out, silenced?
Rise; take heart.

The Beloved is calling you,

wants to hear your plea,

to honor your word,

to hear what has not been spoken,

wants you to come,

to ask for what must be asked for

and must be given.
Now, you have been called

and you have been heard.

Whom have we silenced?

Whom are you called to call

to reveal

the miracle of God?

Rise, take heart.

The Beloved is calling you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

In the space between breaths

It can be gone

A months worth of words

Erased with a fingertip

A 12, 30 even 60 year marriage over

With 4 words spoken:

I want a divorce

A home with all it’s possessions

Destroyed in a matter of minutes in the fury of nature –

Fire or storm

Life

So fragile

With no guarantees

Of longevity

Or comfort

Begs to be lived

Now

To be counted for the sake of goodness

This is the only moment that counts

Don’t wait

Take a deep

deep breath

of the spirit that is giving it all

There is only one thing eternal

Say thank you

For that one thing that will always remain

All else can be destroyed

But not this.

What is this eternal gift?

this one and only gift that remains, that matters?

You already know…

say it together now…

Love

💞

Listen to Gavin Rossdale sing Love Remains the Same

photos found at http://www.pinterest.com

Posted in attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, beloved, Blessing, Change, Choice, commitment, courage, Encouragement, healing, Imagine, Letting Go, Life, Love | Leave a comment

19 Oct 2015

you get to choose

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

🌎

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

It’s all connected

All the love

All the loss

All the joy

All the pain

The world is made of God

We live in the ocean of his breath

Life is love is truth is love is Life

All connected

Everything I really needed to know

I learned from the ocean

and the trees.

The mountains

Introduced me to the angels.

Acorns were my very first teachers and the finest flock of seagulls

were my most recent.

We are the temple

‘We’ includes the universe

we find ourselves in

brothers and sisters

to stars and starships

🌎

Posted in attitude, awareness, be, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, commitment, community, connection, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, grace, Gratitude, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, mystery, People | Leave a comment

12 Oct 2015

do or do not

Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive and express what we really are.

– Miguel Angel Ruiz

Being present lets us experience each moment in our lives in a way that cannot be fully lived through memory or fantasy.

It can be easy for us to walk through the world and our lives without really being present. While dwelling on the past and living for the future are common pastimes, it is physically impossible to live anywhere but the present moment. We cannot step out our front door and take a left turn to May of last year, any more than we can take a right turn to December 2010. Nevertheless, we can easily miss the future we are waiting for as it becomes the now we are too busy to pay attention to. We then spend the rest of our time playing “catch up” to the moment that we just let pass by. During moments like these, it is important to remember that there is only Now.

In order to feel more at home in the present moment, it is important to try to stay aware, open, and receptive. Being in the present moment requires our full attention so that we are fully awake to experience it. When we are fully present, our minds do not wander. We are focused on what is going on right now, rather than thinking about what just happened or worrying about what is going to happen next. Being present lets us experience each moment in our lives in a way that cannot be fully lived through memory or fantasy.

When we begin to corral our attention into the present moment, it can be almost overwhelming to be here. There is a state of stillness that has to happen that can take some getting used to, and the mind chatter that so often gets us into our heads and out of the present moment doesn’t have as much to do. We may feel a lack of control because we aren’t busy planning our next move, assessing our current situation, or anticipating the future. Instead, being present requires that we be flexible, creative, attentive, and spontaneous. Each present moment is completely new, and nothing like it has happened or will ever happen again. As you move through your day, remember to stay present in each moment. In doing so, you will live your life without having to wait for the future or yearn for the past. Life happens to us when we happen to life in the Now.

🔹

Daily Om

There is Only Now

Fresh and Unfixed

by Madisyn Taylor

THE SAFE PATH IS NOT ACTUALLY SAFE. Because what you might lose on the safe path is quite simply: everything. Everything that matters. Your individual essence, your treasure, your vitality, your purpose, your SELF. And that’s the most dangerous thing that can happen to you.

🔹

From Elizabeth Gilbert

🔹

photos found on facebook

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, be, beloved, Change, Choice, commitment, connection, courage, create, determination, do, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, Passion, Purpose | Leave a comment

24 Sep 2015

becoming one

The sojourning spirit is deep within each of us, if we’d listen, but it is not fundamentally about finding ‘the job’ or ‘the voice’ or ‘the degree’ or ‘the position’. The journey, at least as I know it, is a journey to union. It is a journey from fragmentation to wholeness, a journey from exile to home, a journey from attachment to union, a journey from hiding to “being hidden” in Christ, a journey from neurosis to theosis. – Chuck deGroat