Words, Abundantly

Today I am grateful for quiet moments and the breaths between them. I give thanks for creature comforts like patio furniture, blankets, a bed to sleep in.

And words. I offer deep appreciation for words, strung together by others in profound meaning. Plain, yet poignant. Brief, yet with amazing depth. My mind and heart have been abundantly open lately, with many of my daily readings resonating with the gifts of other people’s inspired writing. Here are a few, followed by my own writing to capture meaningful processing.

The bravest thing we can do in this world is not cling to old ideas or fear of judgment, but step out and just do something for love’s sake. . . . -Becca Stevens-

For the love of love, do something! Love in the broad sense of human compassion. It’s not us versus them. It’s US. US that inhabit this planet together. Will you and I contribute or contaminate today?

The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it. -Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj-

My mind is a powerful place and sometimes it is out to get me. Practicing presence has made progress possible in this realm for me in recent years. It does bring the question: If our hearts created the abyss, could we ever recover? I think not. I put my hand on my own heart and say '“thank you” for the help.

When we change the conversation, we change the future. -Juanita Brown-

I thought first of the conversation in my own head. That has long been the one I needed to change, and I am pleased to report that we are getting along better, my mind and I. Do you need to change the conversation in your head? Is there a conversation you have avoided but need to have with someone else? A seemingly small shift can move a stuck pile of stinking thinking.

I got half-a-dozen paintings from that shattered plate. -Georgia O’Keeffe-

Considering the shattered plates over the decades of my life, I can look in the rearview mirror now and know that because of them, sharp and painful as they were, I am more whole than I have ever been. What we each decide to do with our own versions of shattered plates matters not only to us, but the world as a whole.

Some of these quotes come from the Word for the Day at A Network for Grateful Living, which I receive by email daily, and have for many years. I encourage you to sign up to receive these too. Daily reading encouraged but not required.

I close with two more. The first one—from Br. David—is on my list of top 5 quotes. Okay, I don’t have a list, but this is absolutely one of the most meaningful to me, creating one of those small shifts I mentioned earlier.

The last one is from today and a fitting close to this ramble. Thank you to the writers of these words, continuing to inspire abundantly.

It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It’s gratefulness that makes us happy. -Br. David Steindl-Rast

Clouds come floating into my life from other days no longer to shed rain or usher storm but to give colour to my sunset sky.

-Rabindranath Tagore-