But how shall we educate men to goodness,
to a sense of one another,
to a love of the truth?
And more urgently, how shall we do this in a bad time?
Dan Berrigan, born on this day 1921. Died 2016, Jesuit priest and anti-war activist. His words, addressed during the Vietnam War, are even more relevant today
What can I say that I have not said before?
So I’ll say it again.
The leaf has a song in it.
Stone is the face of patience.
Inside the river there is an unfinishable story
and you are somewhere in it
and it will never end until it all ends.
Mary Oliver What Can I Say [extract]
Deep in the wintry parts of our minds, we are hardy stock and know that there is no such thing as a work-free transformation. We know that we will have to burn to the ground in one way or another, and then sit right in the ashes of who we once thought we were and go on from there.
Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves
Parker J Palmer related a story in his wonderful book Let your Life Speak about an elder Quaker woman who explained to him at an important time “An open door and a closed door are the same thing. They both send you in a direction”.
“Proceeding as the way opens” means that life has a holy rhythm.
Carrie Newcomer, As Way Opens
Another month ends. Our rituals and practices, like sitting in meditation, are like a well-worn path which allow us to deepen our capacity to see
To learn something new,
take the path that you took yesterday.
John Burroughs, 1837-1921, American naturalist, quoted in Pico Iyer, Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells
Ester asked why people are sad.
“That’s simple,” says the old man. “They are the prisoners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main aim is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or if it was created by another person. They accumulate experiences, memories, things, other people’s ideas, and it is more than they can possibly cope with. And that is why they forget their dreams.”
Paulo Coehlo, The Zahir
Mindfulbalance 