One regret, dear world,
I am determined not to have
when I am dying on my deathbed
is that I did not kiss you enough.
Hafiz
Tag: gratitude
Sunday Quote: If you make space
There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
Henri Matisse
The good as well as the bad
To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all our lives—the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections—that requires hard spiritual work.
Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment.
Henri Nouwen
Things could be otherwise
A day when I am aware of the gift of life.
This poem was written by Jane Kenyon shortly before she died of leukemia at age 47, aware that things would soon change for her.
I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.
At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.
Jane Kenyon, Otherwise
photo harald hoyer
Being thankful ……or closing our eyes
Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which garden we will tend … When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives, but when we are grateful for the abundance that is present — love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure – the illusion of wasteland falls away and we experience heaven on earth.
Sarah Ban Breathnach
photo takashi hososhima
Gratitude
When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude. For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile.
Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor and author, died July 2nd 2016
Simple flowers from the Mad Hatter Cafe, Castledermot
Mindfulbalance 