life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Peace”

21 Nov 2011

I am…and so are you!

God is love. The One at the heart of all being is love—a desire for blessing, well-being and oneness, a delight in our being woven together. We are children of such love: love creates us, and in our very being we bear love into the world. The purpose of life is to be transparent to this love, to live in the present moment in full awareness of the love of God that is our life and being. We do not fret about how we will be judged or what will become of us, because we know that we belong to this love. The more clearly we see the God of love, the more purely we shine with that very love. God’s compassion, self-giving and delight becomes our whole life. The struggle in life is to shed the things that impede the perfect love that is inherent in us, to become the pure love that is our nature. A saint is not necessarily someone who is extraordinarily “good,” or made holy in some unique way, but someone who is translucent with love. It is not a stretch to become such a person; you were born so. You only have to reclaim it. May it be your prayer always to return to the present moment, to return to the Loving One, to return to the love that is you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Used With Permission
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Adventure, art, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Change, Choice, courage, create, Dreams, Encouragement, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Happiness, Imagine, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, Reflection, Relationships, Smile, strength, success, Sweet, Thoughts, Today, words | Leave a comment
25 Oct 2011

Charge of the Light Brigade

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d & thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter’d & sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

“The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Tennyson. Public domain.

Posted in courage, Death, determination, Freedom, Grieving, Leadership, Life, Love, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Reflection, Relationships, strength, Tears, Thoughts, time, Trust | Leave a comment
23 Oct 2011

A Way of Living

Zig Ziglar, has a way with words. He said, “When I speak, people will occasionally say…’Zig, I loved your talk, but for me, motivation doesn’t last!’ I always tell them…bathing doesn’t either. That’s why I recommend it daily.”

I recently read a book called, ‘One Thousand Gifts’ by Ann Voskamp http://onethousandgifts.com/, which is about living a life of thanksgiving – no matter what your circumstances.

It is an amazingly beautiful book which is now on my short list of all time favs, along with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho http://harpercollins.com/books/The-Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/?isbn=9780061122415 and The Shack by William P. Young http://theshackbook.com/.

There is a thought which makes perfect sense, even though in today’s world, it does not seem to be very popular – in order to get something different, you must DO something different. Along with this thought, the truth of Zig Ziglar’s statement resounds through the air, it must become a way of living. Much more important than bathing, if we are going to create happiness, we must always be in awareness of our choices.

Each of our lives are valuable and important. Our living demands and deserves our attention. We are responsible for our choices and for our own happiness. We must stay aware of what we want in our lives. If you are not happy and you want to be happy, then you must do something differently than you are doing now if you want happiness in your life. This is not about easy – anything of value is never about easy, but it is possible! Our lives have so much more value than most of us even consider.

When I set out, many years ago now, I was a mess. I still am – but now I know the truth, I am a beautiful mess with God as my helper. I have nothing to brag of on my own, but I am the apple of God’s eye. I was broken into millions of pieces by abuse, control, manipulation, loss mistakes, grief and disillusion. With God’s help, I was determined to do it differently than I had seen, and done, all my life. With the words of Jesus in Matthew chapters 5, 6 & 7 to help me with my choices, and by taking Psalm 37 to heart and not trusting to my own selfish way of thinking, I decided I would not fight for ‘fairness’ from others, but instead I would try only to work on my own heart and life. I was determined to refuse bitterness, anger or victimhood in my life. I knew I had a very small and limited view of life and so my faith was in something bigger than myself.

In order to do this I had to stay in a place of constant awareness. I had to choose to face my truth. Choose to battle the darkness within my heart. Choose forgiveness for myself and those around me. Choose to look for the good. Choose to look for the miracles everyday, and everyday I found something good to smile about. Miracles abounded! Many of my wounds have healed, my scars remain. I have learned to love them – as they are the reminders of what God has done for me. They keep me on this path of learning and sharing with others what I have I lived.

Life continues to challenge and every day I must ‘bathe’ in inspiration, I must continue to choose to make the choices towards happiness. This is my life and what I do yesterday is not really very important – it is what I do today that always matters! Every moment matters. Over and over I have made the choice towards love and forgiveness. Every time I make the choice it leads me further into joy, peace and the unconditional, unlimited love of God. I am determined, with God’s amazing grace, to continue.

It is very good!

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, Dreams, Encouragement, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Imagine, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, power, Purpose, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Smile, strength, success, words | Leave a comment
15 Sep 2011

The Treasure

Someone you know was walking through the woods alone,
just following his whims, when he looked down into the hollow where a dark
stream flowed. On the other side of the stream he saw something gold glinting
in the darkness. It was out of his way, and looked difficult to reach, but the
mysterious thing beckoned to him. So he left the well-maintained path, and
descended the steep bank. He made his way, with great effort, through painful
brambles and resistant thickets. Beyond the stream he could see the gold thing,
shining in a tiny shaft of sunlight. As he stepped into the stream he realized
that it was much deeper than he had imagined. He paused, thinking this was a
silly obsession. What would people think of him going to all this trouble just
to find a piece of trash beside a creek? But that thing seemed to be calling
out to him— not from across the stream, but from within him. And he thought, “What
better have I to do than to pursue this mystery?” So he plunged into the
stream. It was over his head, and cold, and the current was surprisingly
strong. He imagined what would happen if he drowned, and they found his body
here. How would they explain that? It made him laugh. But he had resolved to
make this little journey, so he swam across the current.

On the other side he waded through the mud to the treasure. It was certainly nothing that anybody else would want. It was an old picture with a gilded frame, dirty and mostly caked with mud, but shiny along one edge. He wiped off the glass. What he saw astonished him. It was a portrait. To someone looking on it might have looked like nothing but vague
shapes of light and shadow. But among the dreamy shapes, he saw a portrait of
himself! Only it was more noble and beautiful than he could have imagined. In
this picture he had purpose. There was a look in his eyes of deep joy and
wisdom. And it was clear that whoever had painted the picture had done so with
great love and tenderness, with respect for even the tiniest and most ordinary
details. Amazed, he stared at it for a long, long time. The afternoon passed
away.

Finally, clutching it to his heart, he returned across the stream. But in the strong current the picture slipped from his hands and it sank into the unreachable depths. At first he wanted to dive down and find it; but then, floating on the water, he realized that it did not matter. He had seen the picture, and it was engraved in his heart; that was all that mattered to him. He crossed the stream and found a new road, eager to go home and,
though it seemed impossible, to tell his wife.

______________________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light    www.unfoldinglight.net

 

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Encouragement, Freedom, Gratitude, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Judging, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, power, Purpose, quiet, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, strength, success, Thoughts | Leave a comment
11 Aug 2011

Loves me some Einstein-Truth!

Posted in art, Becoming Yourself, Beliefs, Change, Choice, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Judging, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, power, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Smile, strength, success, time, Trust, Winning | Leave a comment
07 Aug 2011
1 Comment

How Much Difference Can One Person Make?

An excerpt from
One Solitary Life
By James A. Francis
He was born in an obscure village the child of a peasant woman.

He grew up in still another village
where He worked in a carpenter shop
until He was thirty, and then for three years
He was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family.
He never owned a house.
He never went to college.
He never visited a big city.

He never traveled
two hundred miles
from the place
where He was born.

He did none of the things
one usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but Himself.

He was only thirty-three when
the tide of public opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to His enemies
and went through the mockery of a trial.

He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

While He was dying
His executioners gambled for His clothing,
the only property He had on earth.

When He was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone,
and today Jesus is the central figure
of the human race,
the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that have ever reigned
put together

Have not affected the life
of mankind on this earth
as much as that
one solitary life.

http://www.simple truths.com
Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, Dreams, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Impossible, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, Poetry, power, quiet, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Smile, Spring, strength, success, Tears, time, Trust, Winning
05 Aug 2011

Change your Choices!!!

Posted in art, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Change, Choice, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Impossible, Letting Go, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, power, Purpose, Reality, Relationships, strength | Leave a comment
05 Jul 2011

This is what you shall do

by Walt Whitman

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”

“This is what you shall do…” by Walt Whitman, from the preface of Leaves of Grass. Public domain.
Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Burnign Bridges, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, dominance, Dreams, force, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, light, Losing, Love, Miracles, Mother, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Seasons, Smile, Spring, Stars and Moonlight, strength, success, Tears, time, Trust, Winning, worry | Leave a comment
13 Jun 2011
1 Comment

Your Glory

Dark and early in your story

someone fearful of your inborn glory

buried it behind your house, and you,

innocently, and wise to save yourself

from their greater wrath,

believed its absence.

 

It’s not a pompous glory, ostentatious

or insistent on regard, but sure and quiet

as a wildflower’s, asking nothing.

 

And so you’ve lived—so have we all—

without it, your heart shoveled over

with self-doubt and apology, as if

you have no place or voice here

among angels.

 

We see you in the cripples who flocked

to Jesus, the mute, the paralyzed,

bent over, shut out, gone mad.

 

And all he meant to say was this:

you shine. You bring a gift

as no one else, and you belong.

Your Word deserves a hearing,

and this world needs your beauty

and your grace. There is no rank

you fall below, no worth you fail to match.

You shuttering was evil, and God

wants it undone, and wants you whole.

 

And so she takes you by the hand

and raises you to stand, to walk, to speak.

She listens to your song with joy.

She rains upon the earth

until you are unafraid of your radiance

and all our houses are surrounded by wildflowers.

used with permission

_____________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, determination, Dreams, Growth, Habits, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Peace, Poetry, Purpose, Seasons, strength
07 Jun 2011
1 Comment

from the very last section of the Course in Miracles – dictated to Helen

And now in all your doings be you blessed.

God turns to you for help to save the world.

Teacher of God, His thanks He offers you,

And all the world stands silent in the grace

You bring from Him. You are the Son He loves,

And it is given you to be the means

Through which His Voice is heard around the world,

To close all things of time; to end the sight

Of all things visible; and to undo

All things that change. Through you is ushered in

A world unseen, unheard, yet truly there.

Holy are you, and in your light the world

Reflects your holiness, for you are not

Alone and friendless. I give thanks for you,

And join your efforts on behalf of God,

Knowing they are on my behalf as well,

And for all those who walk to God with me.

AMEN

Posted in A Course in Miracles, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Dreams, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Impossible, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reflection, Relationships, strength, success, Tears, time

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