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

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



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

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