Devastation….

Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm, when we look at each other we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike.

Maya Angelou

Presence

All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence

Eckhart Tolle

Sunday Quote: Give in to joy

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. ….

Whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty.

Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

All around

All has been consecrated.
The creatures in the forest know this,

the earth does, the seas do, the clouds know
as does the heart full of love.

Strange a priest would rob us of this
knowledge 
and then empower himself
with the ability

to make holy what
already was.

St Catherine of Siena (1347–1380),

in Daniel Ladinsky, Love Poems from God:Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West 

Look within

Now,  more than ever,  we need to develop our own inner resources:

Every man has his own courage,

and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the courage of other persons.

Emerson

The right focus

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going.

What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.

Thomas Merton