Posted in Grace, Life as Prayer, Shifts, So Much Goodness, Uncategorized, tagged Adventure, Beginnings, John O'Donohue, Poetry, Spirit on November 16, 2014| 3 Comments »
Words to tuck in your heart…
“Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awake your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.”
John O’Donohue
Posted in Uncategorized, Visible Love, Work in the World, tagged Barnstorming, Community, Poetry, Robert Fulghum on November 11, 2014| 6 Comments »
I read this poem on Barnstorming the other day and knew that I had to pass it along. I adore the words of Robert Fulghum, but this seems particularly powerful for me lately as I have been thinking a lot about small town life and how powerful it can be to have a community that surrounds us and lifts us up regularly, often without even knowing it.
Without realizing it, we fill
important places in each others’ lives.
It’s that way with the guy at the corner grocery, the mechanic at the local garage,
the family doctor, teachers, neighbors, coworkers. Good people who are always “there,”
who can be relied upon in small,
important ways. People who teach us,
bless us, encourage us, support us,
uplift us in the dailiness of life.
We never tell them.
I don’t know why, but we don’t.
And, of course, we fill that role ourselves. There are those who depend on us,
watch us, learn from us, take from us. And we never know.
You may never have proof of your importance,
but you are more important than you think.
There are always those who couldn’t do without you.
The rub is that you don’t always know who.
~Robert Fulghum
Posted in Beauty, Busy, Gifts, Shifts, tagged cultivating gifts, gems, Heart, Omid Safi, On Being on November 6, 2014| 7 Comments »
The internet is full of little gems like this article down below.
I like to think of myself as a cultivator of gems, sifting through things, pulling out little shiny pieces of goodness cupped in my hands, offering pieces to others to admire, to turn over in their hands and hearts, and see if they want to take a piece of what I have offered into their own lives, to tuck a piece of it into their own hearts as I have done.
There are so many gems, so much to be discovered, remembered and shared. And in that spirit I offer this gem that I am tucking away to ponder as I move through this day.
In many Muslim cultures, when you want to ask them how they’re doing, you ask: in Arabic, Kayf haal-ik? or, in Persian, Haal-e shomaa chetoreh? How is your haal?
What is this haal that you inquire about? It is the transient state of one’s heart. In reality, we ask, “How is your heart doing at this very moment, at this breath?” When I ask, “How are you?” that is really what I want to know.
I am not asking how many items are on your to-do list, nor asking how many items are in your inbox. I want to know how your heart is doing, at this very moment. Tell me. Tell me your heart is joyous, tell me your heart is aching, tell me your heart is sad, tell me your heart craves a human touch. Examine your own heart, explore your soul, and then tell me something about your heart and your soul.
“The Disease of Being Busy” by Omid Safi
Erica Staab 