Whatever wishes to grow within you —a curiosity, a talent, an interest —
is life seeking its expression through you. Our old desire for comfort, even happiness,
may prove an impediment. We are here a very short time.
Let us make it as luminous and as meaningful as we can.
Time to stop being afraid, and time to show up as yourself.
James Hollis, Living an Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey
Another morning and I wake with thirst for the goodness I do not have.
I walk out to the pond and all the way God has given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord, I was never a quick scholar but sulked and hunched over my books past the hour and the bell; grant me, in your mercy, a little more time. Love for the earth and love for you are having such a long conversation in my heart.
Who knows what will finally happen or where I will be sent, yet already I have given a great many things away, expecting to be told to pack nothing, except the prayers which, with this thirst, I am slowly learning.
Mary Oliver, Thirst
I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness:
a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea.
Nothing else.
Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek
We may need to bid farewell to parts of ourselves rooted in safety but not in truth.
In the end we will only carry the reflection, “did I love well”. This will be the residue that either gladdens or aches our heart. As this year comes to an end, let us honor ourselves and those we love by letting go. We can bring fresh eyes to this moment and birth that which enlivens us. As for loving well, we can begin now. We can fly with the angels as we take ourselves lightly.
Ram Dass
Know that joy is rarer, more difficult, and more beautiful than sadness.
Once you make this all-important discovery,
you must embrace joy as a moral obligation.
André Gide
We are all meant to be mothers of God,
for God is always needing to be born.
Meister Eckhart
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