Mom Dec. 2011

Mom Dec. 2011
Mom at Christmas

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Unwrap the Gifts


Unwrap the Gifts

The gloom of the world
is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within reach,
is joy.
There is radiance and glory
in the darkness,
could we but see,
and to see,
we have only to look.
I beseech you to look.

Life is so generous a giver,
but we,
judging its gifts by their covering,
cast them away as ugly,
or heavy, or hard.
Remove the covering,
and you will find beneath it
a living splendor,
woven of love,
by wisdom,
with power...

Everything we call a trial,
a sorrow or a duty,
believe me...
the gift is there,
and all the wonder
of an overshadowing presence.
Our joys too:
be not content with them
as joys.
They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

~Fra Giovanni
1513 A.D.

Listen, Wonder, Live


Listen

The more faithfully
you listen
to the voice within you,

the better
you will hear
what is sounding outside.

~Dag Hammarskjold


The glory of God is man fully alive.
~St. Irenaeous


The Source

...we die on the day
when our lives cease to be illuminated
by the steady radiance
renewed daily,

of a wonder,
the source of which
is beyond reason.

~Dag Hammarskjold

The Guest House - Rumi

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

~ Rumi

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Take Responsiblity and Give Up Control


I can take responsibility for my life;
I cannot control its twists and turns.

I can take responsibility for my health;
I cannot control the ultimate outcome.

I am capable of making healthy choices
that will protect and heal my body;
I am not always at fault for my illness, pain or disease.

The Story of Evolution



The Story of Evolution

We began
As a mineral.  We emerge into plant life,
And into the animal state, and then into being human.
And always we have forgotten our former states,
Except in early spring when we slightly recall
Being green again.

That's how a young person turns
Toward a teacher.  That's how a baby leans
Toward the breast, without knowing the secret
Of its desire, yet turning instinctively.

Humankind is being led along an evolving course.
Through this migration of intelligence,
And though we seem to be sleeping,
There is an inner wakefulness
That directs the dream

And that will eventually startle us back
To the truth of who we are.

Rumi, 13th century


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

We All Have the Seeds of Love in Us


We all have the seeds of love in us.We can develop this wonderful source of energy, nurturing the unconditional love that does not expect anything in return.
THICH NHAT HANH, Teachings on Love


Earth's crammed with Heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees takes off his shoes.
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Every Being Manifests Grace

"Today" means boundless and inexhaustible eternity.  Periods of months and years and of time in general are ideas of men, who calculate by number; but the true name of eternity is Today.
When the righteous man searches for the nature of all things, he makes his own admirable discovery: that everything is God's grace.  Every being in the world, and the world itself, manifests the blessings and generosity of God. 
Philo 50 BCE

Mom begins her life, 1922

Life is Eternal

Daddy's Airforce picture.
Mom's nursing school graduation picture


Life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
~Rossiter W. Raymond 1840-1918