desert monk wisdom

"Making spaces for stillness in our lives is neither selfish or self-serving. It helps us retreat from our usual responsibilities and patterns of activity in order to become better listeners. Today we are bombarded by the one-way and aggressive communication of the media and are losing our ability to listen. Conversation is threatened by increased polarity. Stillness guards our souls from over-activity and over-stimulation of mind and body that scatter our openness to God and our neighbor. Stillness helps our actions keep pace with our hearts, even in a few moments of a busy day. Rather than escaping from life, stillness reacquaints us with life and the Giver of life. Being in a place apart reminds us of the sacredness of life. Stillness is a fresh spring quenching our inner thirst for love of others, even our enemies."
"The desert monks realized the essential rhythm between solitude and community. Solitude and community were seen as complimentary, not competitive. This rhythm has atrophied in modern life. Our responsibilities and needs for productivity have pushed solitude and personal prayer to the margins of personal and public life. Solitude is seen as a benign option for the few, rather than an integral aspect of each person's health and wholeness. The lack of civility, genuine conversation, and desire for collegial approaches to the challenges in our world reflect the absence of solitude in our lives. The outside of our lives reflects the inside of our lives."

~ David G. R. Keller, Oasis of Wisdom: The Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

a quote for today

"The journey begins right here

In the middle of the road.

Right beneath your feet.

This is the place.

There is no other place.

...There is no other time.

~ David Whyte ~

{{ this moment }}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ inspired by Soule Mama

Dalai Lama quotes (: Perfect for a Monday morning..

"It is my fundamental conviction that compassion - the natural capacity of the human heart to feel concern for and connection with another human being - constitutes a basic aspect of our nature shared by all human beings, as well as being the foundation of our happiness. All ethical teachings, whether religious or nonreligious, aim to nurture this innate and precious quality, to develop it and to perfect it."

"Being altruistic does not mean totally rejecting our own interest or neglecting ourselves, this is a misunderstanding. In fact, the kind of altruism that focuses on the well-being of others arises from a very courageous mind, an expansive attitude and a strong sense of self confidence - so much so that the person is capable of challenging the self-cherishing and self-centeredness that tends to rule our lives."

"The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren’t born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities – warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful – happier."

"Anger cannot be overcome by anger. If a person shows anger to you, and you show anger in return, the result is a disaster. In contrast, if you control your anger and show its opposite - love, compassion, tolerance, and patience - then not only will you remain in peace, but the anger of others also will gradually diminish."

"The aim of spiritual and therefore ethical practice is to transform and perfect the individual’s motivation and mental disposition: this is how we become better human beings. And the more we succeed in training our hearts and minds through cultivating spiritual qualities, the better able we will be to cope with adversity and the greater the likelihood that our actions will be ethically wholesome."

"I believe an important distinction can be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with faith in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another. Spirituality I take to be concerned with qualities of the human spirit, love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, that bring happiness both to self and others."

"We can teach ourselves to be more aware of our own mutual dependence. As every living being wants happiness instead of pain, we share a common basic feeling. We can develop right action to help the earth and each other based on a better motivation. When we are motivated by wisdom and compassion, the results of our actions benefit everyone, not just our individual selves or some immediate convenience."

^__^

quote

"If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin."

~Ivan Turgenev

a quote..

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

~Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

Mahatma Gandhi

"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet"

- Mahatma Gandhi

a reminder

A little exerpt from a lovely blog...A perfect reminder (:

"Life can change in an instant. It is so much more fragile than we realize. So many of us waste so much of it, for no reason at all.


The reminder in all of this - don't waste one precious moment..."

Spring doth approacheth..

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing,

spring comes, and the grass grows by itself”

~ zen quote

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,

places to play in and pray in,

where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."

~ John Muir

"If you've never been thrilled to the very

edges of your soul by a flower in spring

bloom,

maybe your soul has never been in bloom."

~Audra Foveo

"To be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter;

to be thrilled by the stars at night;

to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in the spring---

these are some of the rewards of the simple life."

~John Burroughs

quote

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what

makes you come alive, and go do it. Because

what the world needs is people who have

come alive."


~Howard Thurman~

Pueblo Blessing (-:

"Hold on to what is good -
Even if it is a handful of earth

Hold on to what you believe

Even if it is a tree that stands by itself

Hold on to what you must do

Even if it is a long way from here

Hold on to life

Even if it is easier to let go

Hold on to my hand

Even if I have gone away from you."

~Pueblo blessing~

thanks to my friend Jenny for sharing (-:

starting my day with good thoughts..

"To laugh often and much,

to win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children,

to earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends,

to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,

to leave the world a bit better,

whether by a healthy child,a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded!"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

~~~~~

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe,

deserve your love and affection

~The Buddha~

~~~~~

Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together.

All things connect

~Chief Seattle~

~~~~~

First of June, I'll be darned!

"Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern -

it will come out a rose by and by.
Life is like that...
one stitch at a time, taken patiently."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

I suddenly have the great urge to sew and create (-:
Have a blessed first day of June, everyone!