The Unexpected

…there are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths.
– Mark Nepo
Always a surprise to catch a blue heron in flight
Always a surprise to catch a blue heron in flight

Sitting in Silence

Prayer is sitting in the silence until it silences us, choosing gratitude until we are grateful, praising God until we ourselves are a constant act of praise.
– Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Radical Grace: Daily Meditations
Waiting
Waiting

How Do You Experience Worship?

Great compassion is the root of all forms of worship.
– His Holiness the Dalai Lama
In the grandeur of Niagara Falls, how is one's heart not moved to worship?
In the grandeur of Niagara Falls, how is one’s heart not moved to worship?

Enjoying the Seasons

Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.
– Yoko Ono
It is no longer the time of the crocus, but we remember its welcome appearance.
It is no longer the time of the crocus, but we remember its welcome appearance.

What Do You Bring to the World?

niagara_1
Some people go through life trying to find out what the world holds for them only to find out too late that it’s what they bring to the world that really counts.
 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Courage Not to Fear

We rise in perfect light!
We rise in perfect light!

Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

Sarah Williams from “The Old Astronomer to His Pupil” in Best Loved Poems of the American People

Just What Is Freedom?

Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice.

– Thich Nhat Hanh

cross_country_2014_0106

What to Do when Feeling Overwhelmed

A dahlia within reach
A dahlia within reach

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.

– Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés

How to Handle Rain

For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Never would I have imagined watching a parade in the rain. We just don't do it that way in California!
Never would I have imagined watching a parade in the rain. We just don’t do it that way in California!

The Poet Speaks Again

To live, we must daily break the body and shed the book of creation. When we do it knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, destructively, it is a desecration.

– Wendell Berry, The Gift of Good Land

The art glass of Chihuly graces and is graced by the garden which it shares
The art glass of Chihuly graces and is graced by the garden which it shares