Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.
-Anthony Brandt
"Hatred, jealousy and excessive attachment cause suffering and agitation. I feel compassion can help us overcome these disturbances and let us return to a calm state of mind. Compassion is not just being kind to your friend. That involves attachment because it is based on expectation. Compassion is when you do something good without any expectations – based on realizing that “the other person is also just like me”.
-Dalai Lama
"We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations."
-Anais Nin
-Anais Nin
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony. - William Henry Channing
The Seven Advices of Rumi
In generosity and helping others be like a river.
In compassion and grace be like the sun.
In concealing others’ faults be like the night.
In anger and fury be like the dead.
In modesty and humility be like the earth.
In tolerance be like the sea.
Either exist as you are or be as you look.
In generosity and helping others be like a river.
In compassion and grace be like the sun.
In concealing others’ faults be like the night.
In anger and fury be like the dead.
In modesty and humility be like the earth.
In tolerance be like the sea.
Either exist as you are or be as you look.
Think excitement, talk excitement, act out excitement, and you are bound to become an excited person. Life will take on a new nest, deeper interest and greater meaning. You can think, talk and act yourself into dullness or into monotony or into unhappiness. By the same process you can build up inspiration, excitement and surging depth of joy. - Norman Vincent Peale
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer. ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
"Take everything you are--your background, your family, your history, your story, your community, your style, your job, your dreams, your talents, your body, your humor, your sorrow, your joys and make them yours. Be ashamed of nothing. Make the most of what you have and Girl, make it look damn "good...because you can." Kelle Hampton
"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you." -Oprah
"....here's the truth: when we practice being open and vulnerable, blessings flood our lives. Our hearts soar on the freedom of released burden. And soon, we don't have to practice anymore once we've learned to speak from our own meaningful truth. It is the biggest miracle in my life to learn this lesson over and over again. My very own vulnerabilities, once seen as my weaknesses, have turned out to be the greatest strength I've known." -Kelly Rae Roberts
"If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything I was trying to say, it would be something like this: listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis, all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace." -Frederick Buechner
"It seems when we are paired with the person most perfect for us, the good parts of ourselves, the most liked pieces of our personalities seem to stay awhile longer, shine brightly, like glitter in the brilliance of moonlight. and you can never have enough shine, and brightness, and glitter. you just can't." -Kelly Rae Roberts
what in your life is calling you?
when all the noise is silenced,
the meetings adjourned, the lists laid aside,
and the wild iris blooms by itself in the dark forest,
what still pulls on your soul?
in the silence between your heartbeats hides a summons,
do you hear it?
name it, if you must, or leave it forever nameless,
but why pretend it is not there?
-terma collective, The Box
when all the noise is silenced,
the meetings adjourned, the lists laid aside,
and the wild iris blooms by itself in the dark forest,
what still pulls on your soul?
in the silence between your heartbeats hides a summons,
do you hear it?
name it, if you must, or leave it forever nameless,
but why pretend it is not there?
-terma collective, The Box
May our eyes remain open even in the face of tragedy.
May we not become disheartened.
May we find in the dissolution
of our apathy and denial,
the cup of the broken heart.
May we discover the gift of the fire burning
in the inner chamber of our being –
burning great and bright enough
to transform any poison.
May we offer the power of our sorrow to the service
of something greater than ourselves.
May our guilt not rise up to form
yet another defensive wall.
May the suffering purify and not paralyze us.
May we realize the greatness of our sorrow
and not run from its touch or flame.
May clarity be our ally and wisdom our support.
May our wrath be cleansing, cutting through
the confusion of denial and greed.
May we not be afraid to see or speak our truth.
May the bleakness of the wasteland be dispelled.
May the soul’s journey be revealed
and the true hunger fed.
May we be forgiven for what we have forgotten
and blessed with the remembrance
of who we really are.
~ The Terma Collective
May we not become disheartened.
May we find in the dissolution
of our apathy and denial,
the cup of the broken heart.
May we discover the gift of the fire burning
in the inner chamber of our being –
burning great and bright enough
to transform any poison.
May we offer the power of our sorrow to the service
of something greater than ourselves.
May our guilt not rise up to form
yet another defensive wall.
May the suffering purify and not paralyze us.
May we realize the greatness of our sorrow
and not run from its touch or flame.
May clarity be our ally and wisdom our support.
May our wrath be cleansing, cutting through
the confusion of denial and greed.
May we not be afraid to see or speak our truth.
May the bleakness of the wasteland be dispelled.
May the soul’s journey be revealed
and the true hunger fed.
May we be forgiven for what we have forgotten
and blessed with the remembrance
of who we really are.
~ The Terma Collective
"Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace." -Frederick Buechner
"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return." - Mary Jean Iron
The Journey
The Journey
By Mary OliverOne day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
At first I listened with hesitation, but before I knew it, I was getting out my journal and writing down some food for thought. Basically the message was what I already knew but needed to be reminded of. That you are what your thoughts consist of. And that you must shift your perspective and change your awareness of yourself if you're ever going to get where you'd like to go. That you find your calling in life by listening to the whispers. That when you find your inspiration, you must surrender yourself to it, that it becomes bigger than you, and in it lies your divine purpose. Afterall, he says, we are just spiritual beings living the human experience, and to be inspired takes you on your journey back to your divine self. In order to get there, you have to think of yourself as limitless, without boundaries and bonds. That you must take off the layers of learned beliefs and expose your essence, your raw and sweetly divine self. Your thoughts are your reality. They attract to your life exactly what they represent. So keep em' positive.
"Women are the primary resource of the planet. They give birth, we come from them. They are mothers, they are visionaries, they are the future. If we can figure out how to make women feel safe and honor women, it would be parallel or equal to honoring life itself."
- Eve Ensler
- Eve Ensler
How might your life have been different if there had been a place for you...where you were received and affirmed? A place where others had been affirmed before you, each in her time, affirmed as she struggled to become more truly herself.
A place where, after the fires were lighted, and the drumming, and the silence, there would be a hush of expectancy...a knowing that each one there was leaving old conformity to find her self...a sense that all of womanhood stood on the threshold.
And if, during the hush, others had helped you to trust your own becoming...to trust it and quietly and prayerfully to nurture it...
How might your life be different? ~ Judith Duerk (Circle of Stones)
A place where, after the fires were lighted, and the drumming, and the silence, there would be a hush of expectancy...a knowing that each one there was leaving old conformity to find her self...a sense that all of womanhood stood on the threshold.
And if, during the hush, others had helped you to trust your own becoming...to trust it and quietly and prayerfully to nurture it...
How might your life be different? ~ Judith Duerk (Circle of Stones)
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We are all meant to shine. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” - Marianne Williamson
"IMAGINE A WOMAN WHO FOLLOWS HER CREATIVE IMPULSES.
A WOMAN WHO PRODUCES ORIGINAL CREATIONS.
WHO REFUSES TO COLOR INSIDE SOMEONE ELSE'S LINES."
- PATRICIA LYNN REILLY (IMAGINE A WOMAN)
A WOMAN WHO PRODUCES ORIGINAL CREATIONS.
WHO REFUSES TO COLOR INSIDE SOMEONE ELSE'S LINES."
- PATRICIA LYNN REILLY (IMAGINE A WOMAN)
"IMAGINE A WOMAN WHO FOLLOWS HER CREATIVE IMPULSES.
A WOMAN WHO PRODUCES ORIGINAL CREATIONS.
WHO REFUSES TO COLOR INSIDE SOMEONE ELSE'S LINES."
- PATRICIA LYNN REILLY (IMAGINE A WOMAN)
A WOMAN WHO PRODUCES ORIGINAL CREATIONS.
WHO REFUSES TO COLOR INSIDE SOMEONE ELSE'S LINES."
- PATRICIA LYNN REILLY (IMAGINE A WOMAN)
follow your heart
Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. - Eleanor Roosevelt
love and compassion
"I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion--and where it isn't, that's where my work lies.." --Ram Dass
change
The wheel of change moves on, and those who were down go up and those who were up go down. ~Jawaharlal Nehru
life
"I have learned more the deep truths of motherhood and life and accepting the ebb and flow of life's events and molding my perceptions like clay, rolling them out, kneading them over and over to make something beautiful." Kelle Hampton
Attitude
“Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” William James
Friendship
Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person. Having to neither weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away. ~Dinah Craik
Enjoying life
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
-Robert Brault
-Robert Brault
Greatness
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.
-William Shakespeare
-William Shakespeare
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