life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Encouragement”

open my eyes

I walked a mile to school today
In the snow
Uphill both ways
Not my favorite type of snow,
But still beautiful and exciting.
Wind gusts blew me around
Making me fight to keep my ground
Snow spitting in my face
Felt like salt or sand
I pulled my hat down and squinted
As I walked I sang the old hymn
The prayer of my heart

Open my eyes
That I may see
Glimpses of truth you have for me
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free
Silently now I wait for Thee
Ready my God
Thy will to see
Open my eyes
Illumine me
Savior divine

When I reached my school,
Branford River,
I grew silent and allowed my soul
To open to the beauty
the wonder
it continued as I walked my return path
returning
I felt again the birds flying above me yesterday
Free falling
Catching the wind
So graceful
and sure
and I realized my fear
the fear I had learned
Fear of falling
All my life
Taught I was clumsy
that I would crash if I tried
That I couldn’t fly
Couldn’t dance
my problem identified as
Not very graceful
What if that was not true?
What if?
I picture myself jumping from an airplane
Soaring like those birds
I float and fly
smoothly and gracefully in my head
then I dance
Gliding across the floor
with the man I love
and am surprised
I enjoy this feeling
of my grace
my freedom

School has been amazing today
You just never know
What you will learn in
God’s life class

3/7/13

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here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. – Martin Luther

I understand consuming grace

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stay aware

Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don’t, you will leak away your innate contentment. It’s easy enough to pray when you’re in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments.
– Elizabeth Gilbert

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truth from Paulo Coelho

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A Lifetime A Day

In the space between breaths.
The silence between two notes.
It can be gone –
A month’s worth of words
erased with a fingertip.
Gone for
forever.

A 12, 30 even 63 year marriage over
With 4 simple words spoken:
I want a divorce.

A home with all its possessions
destroyed in a matter of minutes
in the fury of nature –
Fire,
storm,
   or selfishness

Life!
so fragile,
with no guarantees
of longevity
or comfort,
begs to be lived
now.
In the middle of it all,
the song must be sung
or forever silenced.

Living a lifetime a day
is the only way1a
to count
for the sake of goodness.

This moment
is the only moment that counts.
The thing eternal
are these moments
that don’t wait.

Take a deep, deep breath
of the spirit that is giving it all.
Breathe your thank you’s
in and out.
Slowly.
Wholly.
Holy.
Allow this new air change the world,
to light up the inner rooms of darkness,
for the only gift that matters,
the only thing that remains.

All else can be destroyed.
When nothing else remains,
what is this eternal gift?

Love, and love alone
is why we exist.

AL  12/22/12

what’s your soundtrack?

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Do not push the river – Neale Donald Walsh

Wait. The Right Time is at hand, and resolution of this difficulty is on its way.

– Neale Donald Walsh
http://www.nealedonaldwalsch.com/

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Love this thought – do not push the river! ha
Patience is a virtue not easily come by, but oh so important!!!
As the old saying goes, Timing is everything!

believe

4Believe it is possible to solve your problem. Tremendous things happen to the believer. So believe the answer will come. It will. – Norman Vincent Peale

10 Questions You Should Know the Answers To…
Because the answers to these ten questions will help you discover the very best in yourself…

1. What would make you proud of yourself?

When you follow your heart and intuition, people won’t always agree with you. When you find something that makes you happy, not everyone will be happy for you. When you show unwavering kindness to others, some people will question your motives. When you are honest to the core, some folks will attempt to use your honesty against you. When you look for the best in everyone you meet, a few of them will take advantage of it.

Don’t let any of these people stop you from doing these things. These people don’t matter. In the end, what does matter is how you feel about yourself and the life you have led. You will ask yourself one question: “Am I proud of how I lived?” Make the answer: “Yes!”

2. How can you make a positive difference?

Even when it seems like a hopeless effort, do the right thing. Always live firmly by the forces of love and truth. The bullies and cheats who seem unstoppable in the short term always fall from power in the end. Love and truth always rise to the top.

Keep injecting your goodness into the world, one small act at a time. It’s these small acts of goodness stacked together that eventually change the world. You may never see the full result of your positive actions, but they will be accounted for and realized in time. If you do nothing, there will be no result – no positive change ever.

3. What are you trying to accomplish and why?

Know the answer to this simple question and remind yourself of it every single day. You must identify, without any doubt, the specific reason you do the work you do. Success can only occur when there is a target and a reason to hit it.

When you have a reason to do something, you have a legitimate purpose behind your efforts. When you connect this reason to a desired result, you’re able to summon the discipline and persistence necessary to get the job done. Give yourself a good reason and you will find a way to succeed. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

4. What are the roadblocks standing in your way?

A roadblock is only a roadblock if you don’t know about it. If you know about it, it’s just a challenge. Look around and evaluate the challenges you face; within them lie the opportunities to make lasting progress. You are in the best position to make the most of these opportunities, because you know exactly where you are, where you want to go, and what resources you have at your disposal.

Remember that the roughest roads often lead to the top, and the best way to get over a roadblock is to go through it. Thus, you must run toward your challenges with all your might, because the easiest way through them is to trample them beneath your feet. You have what it takes right now. You know what you must do and you know why. Step confidently into your challenges until you reach the road on the other side.

5. What’s the next step?

Remember, you will never make a bigger mistake than sitting back and doing nothing simply because you can only do a little. So go head and start small. Take a small step, and if you can’t take a small step, take a tiny one. Do what you can with the resources you have right now. Get yourself moving in a positive, productive direction.

The best thing about big success is that it comes one step at a time. A flash of success, no matter how small, creates the momentum necessary to create even more success. Every positive step forward puts you in position to take the next one.

6. What are your flaws and faults?

You will never be flawless. You will never be faultless. Acknowledge your flaws and faults and accept them. Let the difference between your flaws and the flaws of others be that you have accepted their existence and moved past them, while others are hopelessly trying to hide them. Let the difference between your faults and the faults of others be that you have addressed them and learned from them, while others are still living in denial.

Don’t fall victim to fabricated illusions. Don’t hide from reality. Face your deficiencies and use them to bask in the glory of your personal growth.

7. What issues do you need to resolve with yourself?

When you feel lonely you look around for someone to fill the void in your life. You assume that your loneliness stems exclusively from being alone. But once you find company, it doesn’t take long before you realize that there’s still a void in your life. You still feel lonely and unfulfilled, so you blame it on your company and you move on to someone else… and then someone else. This cycle perpetuates for months, or even years, until you are eventually ready to face the truth.

The truth is, a partner, or even just a friend, can add lots of beauty to your life, but they can’t fill a void that exists within you. You alone are responsible for you own fulfillment. If you feel desperately lonely when you’re alone, it means you’re in bad company. It means you need to work on your relationship with yourself first. To believe otherwise is to delude your mind and perpetuate your loneliness as you
hop from one failed relationship to the next.

8. How are you burdening yourself?

If you feel like your back is breaking from the weight your mind is carrying, perhaps it’s time to lighten the load you carry. There are many burdens you can easily let go of if you’re willing.

Start by leaving your worries behind you; worries only fill your mind with negativity. Instead take constructive action – get involved in something worthwhile that takes your mind off of things. Next, drop your grudges. Grudges and resentments simply suck energy and time away from you without any positive return. Once you’ve gotten this far, it’s time to stop pretending like you know everything. Rather than attempting to prove yourself, open your mind, eyes and ears to new and real possibilities. And before you wrap things up, let go of your impatience. Two of the most vital virtues of your personal growth will be your patience to wait for the right moment and your courage to make the best of it.

As you can see, dropping burdensome negativity from your life is fairly easy once you realize how much of it you’re carrying around with you. Do yourself a favor today and lighten your load.

9. How have you celebrated your progress lately?

Focus on the progress you’ve made, on the next positive step, on the silver lining between where you once were, where you are now, and where you’re headed. Do not think of yesterday’s failures, but of the success that is possible today.

Be proud of yourself. The fact that you’re trying is immensely impressive. You have conquered complacency. You are crushing your fears with every new effort you put forth. You aren’t where you want to be yet, but you’re making progress. Step by step will get you there. Even if you feel like you’re running in place, you aren’t. No effort that you make to attain something worthwhile is ever lost. It doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you don’t give up.

10. What do you love about your life?

Life is a series of highs and lows. There will be times when bad things happen. When these times strike, it’s important to keep things in perspective. How you respond to life’s inevitable difficulties defines the strength and growth of your character, as well as the quality of your life. The false idea that you are a victim of any particular circumstance is simply inaccurate.

The fleeting ups and downs that occur on a daily basis are tiny threads in the overall fabric of your life. Each one adds to your personal growth. The quality of your life is ultimately your choice. You can choose to be immobilized by the gravity of your disappointments, or you can choose to rise from the suffering and treasure the most precious gift you have – life itself.

Marc and Angel Hack Life

10 Questions You Should Know the Answers To

listening

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Discerning God’s Presence
The Gospels are filled with examples of God’s presence in the word. Personally, I am always touched by the story of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth. There he read from Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
for he has anointed me
to bring good news to the afflicted.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
captives, sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord.
(Luke 4:18-19)

After having read these words, Jesus said, “This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening.” Suddenly, it becomes clear that the afflicted, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed are not people somewhere outside of the synagogue who, someday, will be liberated; they are the people who are listening. And it is in the listening that God becomes present and heals.
The Word of God is not a word to apply in our daily lives at some later date; it is a word to heal us through, and in, our listening here and now.
The questions therefore are: How does God come to me as I listen to the word? Where do I discern the healing hand of God touching me through the word? How are my sadness, my grief, and my mourning being transformed at this very moment? Do I sense the fire of God’s love purifying my heart and giving me new life? These questions lead me to the sacrament of the word, the sacred place of God’s real presence.

Henri Nouwen
Excerpt from Henri Nouwen’s With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life
http://www.henrinouwen.org/

what are the chances?

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