The Master gives himself up
to whatever the moment brings.
He knows that he is going to die,
and he has nothing left to hold on to;
No illusions in his mind,
no resistances in his body.
He doesn’t think about his actions;
they flow from the core of his being.
He holds nothing back from life;
therefore he is ready for death,
as a man is ready for sleep
after a good day’s work.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
May your longing inhabit its deepest dreams
within the shelter of the Great Belonging
John O Donohue, Eternal Echoes
photo Mullaghreelan Wood near Kilkea, Co Kildare
Silence comes from the Latin word, silens, meaning to be still, quiet, or at rest. Other words related to it are: calm, peace, serenity, tranquility, poise, composure, noiselessness, hush, and solitude. In his description of stillness, Romano Guardini cuts to its very essence: “Stillness is the tranquility of the inner life; the quiet at the depths of its hidden streams. It is a collected, total presence, a being ‘all there,’ receptive, alert, ready . . . It is when the soul abandons the restlessness of purposeful activity.” Within this definition we learn silence’s first fundamental lesson: It is not so much a lack of sound as it is a cultivation of interior stillness.
Eugene Hemrick, Silence: Taken from the promise of virtue
There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving.
But, who wants easier?
Mary Oliver
photo James Petts
The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for.
And the most you can do is live inside that hope.
Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.
Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams
photo of a small cottage in the west of Ireland by louise price
Our bodies know they belong;
it is our minds that make our lives so homeless.
John O Donohue
Mindfulbalance 