life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “Encouragement”
that feeling
Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love.
❤️
~ Khalil Gibran
We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn’t approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God’s love. Evil does not belong to God.
God’s unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God’s ever-present love.
❤️
– Henri Nouwen
‘In all the languages in the world, there is the same proverb: “What the eyes don’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.”
Well, I say that there isn’t an ounce of truth in it. The further off they are, the closer to the heart are all those feelings that we try to repress and forget.
If we’re in exile, we want to store away every tiny memory of our roots.
If we’re far from the person we love, everyone we pass in the street reminds us of them.
‘The gospels and all the sacred texts of all religions were written in exile, in search of God’s understanding, of the faith that moves whole peoples, of the pilgrimage of souls wandering the face of the Earth.
Our ancestors did not know, as we do not know, what the Divinity expects from our lives – and it is out of that doubt that books are written, pictures painted, because we don’t want to forget who we are – nor can we.’
______________________________
(in “Eleven Minutes”, by Paulo Coelho)
photo sources found at http://www.pinterest.com
do or do not….there is no try – Yoda
I want to be the song, a poem
I don’t want to play the record
Perch behind the lens
Hold the pen.
I want to be the song
Live the photo
Experience the novel.
Enough interpreting my existence.
Enough searching for the symbol, the reflection, the meaning.
I am resonant, alive, pulsing
One.
Treble and bass.
Light and shadows.
Beginnings and endings.
All of it.
I want to be the song.
Beating, polyrhythmic, harmonious.
The lyrics my prayers.
I want to live the photo.
Still, present, vibrant.
The image my essence.
I want to experience the novel.
Aching, poignant, truth.
The plot my story.
I want to be alive.
Color, beauty, heart-break.
Engaged, awake, heart-felt.
In awe.
Longing.
Loving.
💞
Spread the Love
Eloiza Jorge
💞
click on the photo below to go to Eloiza’s blog Deepening Wisdom
https://deepeningwisdom.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/i-want-to-be-alive/img_1833/
There comes a time when nothing is meaningful except surrendering to Love. Do It!
💞
– Rumi
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions.
To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease
into the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
Everything is Waiting for You
…
EVERYTHING IS WAITING FOR YOU by David Whyte
Excuse me while I kiss the sky.
Pardon me while I hug the moon.
Forgive me while I dance with the ocean.
Give me a minute while I laugh with the stars.
Hold your horses while I sing to the angels.
Patience, my old friend, while I make love to the world.
Get some rest while I fly the skies with the eagles.
Count some sheep while I paint a masterpiece with Mother Nature.
Then…
Come lay down beside me and hold me.
caress my skin with lovers hands.
whisper secrets my soul longs to hear.
sing to me softly.
kiss me like the butterflies.
while I love you forever
and ever,
we fall asleep together
every night,
and I wake to see the face I love every morning.
Sweet dreams, my love.
good night.
🌙
AL
photos found at http://www.pinterest.com
together in a hopeful world
Yesterday there was a facebook post from Jen Lemen over at Hopeful World http://hopefulworld.org (she’s one of my most admired people on the planet) telling me that it was a half-way-between-solstice moment and she would be burning a fire in celebration and prayer. If anyone wanted to be part…just say ‘yes’ and she would bring us! I said, ‘Yes, please’ as quickly as I could type it!!!
And so, last night, while I was sleeping…Jen Lemen was doing something so amazing, I get chill bumps every time I think about it!!! She was holding me, and mine, in that space between.
Yes, there was INTENTION, there was fire, there was singing, there was celebrating and grieving, there was prayer for the world, for everyone who requested it…and, Holy Batman, Batman, there was prayer for ME and all I hold within and without me.
What a gift! Beauty and all she is! Powerful and humbling! Encouraging and valuing! I feel it all this morning and I say, Thank you, Jen! Thank you, more than I can say! I am so blessed by you and your work!! 💞
I woke up to these words from Jen this morning:
Writing blessings. Saying prayers. May you be happy and peaceful. May no harm come to you. May no difficulty come to you. May you be deeply blessed. May you take care of anyone and everything smaller and sweeter than you are. May you surrender your power to make space for a forgotten voice. May you notice the earth and how she moves and breathes. May you say yes when you’re called and stay quietly beside until the time is right. May you become love and be love and find love and hope for more love, when others say it doesn’t matter or all hope is gone. #pathofprayerandpleasure #urbanfamily #bliss #mysticlife #blessings #imbolc #brigid #celticspring
🙏🏻
– Jen Lemen @ Hopeful World
The poet gives you a little stone to stand on,
a ledge, a moment of the world or your own mind
to notice, to ground yourself in,
and from there to leap
maybe to another stone, a similar noticing,
maybe to another star, the light you are made of,
or a beauty pouring itself into you,
or maybe just leap all the way to God.
When you are praying
the smallest thing
can be what you stand on,
can be your prayer.
Any time, from even a single twig
you can leap
and wherever you land will be God.
The leaping is God.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
Follow and support Jen Lemen @
art and photo sources found at http://www.pinterest.com
yes, please, beat again
Grace
Nothing I have ever done or will ever do
can separate me from
or bring me into the heart of the Beloved.
Oh, I can distract myself from the longing
that whispers day and night for that sacred union,
and some days I am too tired to notice
that what I ache for is and always has been here:
. . . . right here in and at my fingertips,
in the way the breeze lifts my hair,
the way the earth pulls me to her,
the way shared laughter makes my sides ache.
Nothing I have done or will ever do
can make me worthy or unworthy
of being touched by the Lover’s hand and heart,
of being the Lover’s hand and heart in the world.
Grace – the way Infinite Love
gives Himself to us in every moment,
the way God unfurls Her tender mercy in our hearts-
is a constant invitation to say with the fullness of our being:
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
❤️
~Oriah Mountain Dreamer
there is terrible beauty in every human heart
tell me a story that will live with me forever
love always shares grace always wins
you can’t miss if you show up
pay attention…
the message is always revealed at the appointed intersection
letting go brings the right miracle
at the right time the song playlist repeats
crazy love flows into mystic waters slowly drips the sweetest tupelo honey
deep calling to deep
honor chooses to say yes to the best invitations
making the call brings me the messages I need to build the new bridge from the friend bench of this manna-filled moment
there is always more than enough to share
gratitude buckets fill and overflow
removing scales from blurry, tearful, kaleidoscope eyes
as perfect peace falls into rightful place
color shards blooming into new masterpieces of never before seen glory
diamonds dance on the water
flaming beauty evolves, drives me to my knees,
shedding shoes, and fear,
as we talk
I lift my face to the sun and free soar
full wing, open soul, with the gulls,
who always fly in trust, never a shadow of doubt, that they are loved to the sky
right here, and in every tick of time,
in, and in between, every click of the second hand,
around the bend of eternity and back again
🌀
AL 1/30/16
in gratitude and honor for connecting with Liz on this beautiful morning of sun, warm and snow drifts
photo above by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT
🌃
photos found at http://www.pinterest.com
fall down 7 times, get up 8
There is a path we all walk in life. All the places we go when the path gets too rocky and exhausting and brutal and beautiful are dead-end detours. If you take these detours you are not bad, but you are wasting your time and energy.
The path looks like this:
Come back to the path.
There’s no other way.
You will never find your perfect life “balance” on the path for the same reason you will never find a unicorn on the path – because these things don’t exist. Forget unicorns and balance. If you were perfectly balanced, you’d never have to take anyone’s hand to steady yourself, and that would be a tragedy.
There is no solid ground on the path — so don’t hold your breath till you find it. Breathe deeply and keep moving forward awkwardly. You can make it down the whole path imbalanced and flailing. When you fall, give thanks for the opportunity to rest. While you’re down, send love to every other path walker who’s down with you at that moment.
Then get back up.
Or crawl. Crawling is encouraged and respected. Path running is fine, but crawling is much better. Crawlers travel with their eyes close to the ground — so they never miss an inch of the beautiful, rocky path. Crawlers get less glory but learn the most about the path’s terrain.
And know your fellow travelers are both your teachers and students. Your relationships with them will be the hardest part of path walking. To avoid humbling oneself into the role of student and having the courage to position oneself into the role of teacher — many try to walk the path alone.
But the path was not designed for solo treks.
The path was designed to teach Love. Whenever you introduce your true self to a fellow path traveler and listen and speak and learn and stay with her for a while – that is called Love. Walking with and staying with messy fellow path travelers for any length of time is Love. Love is the most brutal and beautiful part of path traveling. Participate. Learn from and teach every path traveler you encounter. Exchanging love with fellow path travelers is how we gather the wisdom and strength we’ll need to overcome the next obstacle on our path.
Note: You do not teach by teaching — you teach by loving. Be humble and courageous.
You always have enough strength.
And courage and wisdom. You always have exactly what you need for your daily trek. Sometimes you won’t believe this, because you will encounter stretches of the path that are treacherous and terrifying, but if you give up in the middle of those stretches — if you sit down permanently in them — then you have to live there. Don’t live in the dark, scary parts. Trust and keep moving. There will be a clearing soon and you will feel the warm sun again.
The One who created your path is outside of time, so your life is an epic movie that has already been scripted. So don’t plan or worry — your job is to trust your path and participate fully and notice as much as you possibly can and keep on moving.
But don’t become proud or ashamed.
Don’t become proud that you are further along than many travelers or ashamed that you are far behind others. Your position on the path relative to other travelers has nothing to do with your strength or stamina or wisdom or cunning. We are all in different places because we all have different entry points to the path.
Where you are and where everyone else is along the path is none of your concern or business.
Let that go.
You are exactly where you are supposed to be, always, and so is everyone else. The portion of the path you wake up to today was written for you.
Everyone is exactly where he or she is supposed to be. You are not your own or anyone else’s path-planner. You are just a traveler. You just keep moving. Trust the Path. Follow in the footsteps of a billion other mighty travelers who have walked and run and crawled the path before you.
Fear not. And carry on, warrior.
🛤
you’re on by Glennon Doyle Melton
on Donald Miller StoryLine Blog http://storylineblog.com/2016/01/26/make-the-most-of-the-path-youre-on/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Donald%20Miller&utm_content=Make%20the%20Most%20of%20the%20Path%20You’re%20On
photos found at http://www.pinterest.com
honored silence
If you have seen the snow
under the lamppost
piled up like a white beaver hat on the picnic table
or somewhere slowly falling
into the brook
to be swallowed by water,
then you have seen beauty
and know it for its transience.
And if you have gone out in the snow
for only the pleasure
of walking barely protected
from the galaxies,
the flakes settling on your parka
like the dust from just-born stars,
the cold waking you
as if from long sleeping,
then you can understand
how, more often than not,
truth is found in silence,
how the natural world comes to you
if you go out to meet it,
its icy ditches filled with dead weeds,
its vacant birdhouses, and dens
full of the sleeping.
But this is the slowed-down season
held fast by darkness
and if no one comes to keep you company
then keep watch over your own solitude.
In that stillness, you will learn
with your whole body
the significance of cold
and the night,
which is otherwise always eluding you.
❄️
Winter Grace by Patricia Fargnoli
arriving. departing.
Above the mountains
the geese turn into
the light again
painting their
black silhouettes
on an open sky.
Sometimes everything
has to be
enscribed across
the heavens
so you can find
the one line
already written
inside you.
Sometimes it takes
a great sky
to find that
first, bright
and indescribable
wedge of freedom
in your own heart.
Sometimes with
the bones of the black
sticks left when the fire
has gone out
someone has written
something new
in the ashes
of your life.
You are not leaving.
Even as the light
fades quickly now,
you are arriving.
…
The Journey by David Whyte
photos found at http://www.pinterest.com
life: acoustic & amplified 