heartsteps

Life is intentional, not accidental. I bless this central fact. Consciousness instigates shifts in outer reality. Recognizing that I have the power to change my world by changing my thinking, I set for myself a gentle vigilance toward negative thoughts. When I fear abandonment, I remind myself that the universe itself is my loving companion. When I fear stagnation, I surrender into the deeper flow of life rather than willfully forcing artificial solutions. Constantly partnered by interactive universe, I do my part by reminding myself that I am part of a larger plan, partnered by an infinite intelligence. In its perfect pink blossoming, the bloom of the apple tree does not concern itself whether a bee will appear. The blossom does its job just by blossoming. The bee is drawn to do the rest. Rather than imagine that my yearnings are self-centered or counter to the flow of life, I practice simply blossoming in the faith that I attract what I need simply by following and blessing my true nature.

Julia Cameron

Our true home is in the present moment.
To live in the present moment is a miracle.
The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment,
to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
Peace is all around us-
in the world and the nature-
and within us-
in our bodies and our spirits.
Once we learn to touch this peace,
we will be healed and transformed.
It is not a matter of faith;
it is a matter of practice.

Thich Nhat Hanh

We pray to make it whole,
tip the world on edge and
follow the trail home, singing.
Our voices carry
into the future,
our brief language
a migration of words,
slow voice of mountain,
wandering voices of caribou, wind.
Blown seed, all the
lost languages wandering
through seasons, moon and sun,
wandering through centuries,
drifting, every year
the grass return, the birds
begin to sing,
the sky clears and
we can see forever.

Gary Lawless

Matthew 18:10-14

Holy One,
how long,
how long
until we realize that it is love
which set the stars in place
and binds the planets in their orbits?

How long until we understand that the cardinal’s whistle
is a love song,
a canticle of praise for the lover,
and that Earth’s long journey through this cosmos
is the time it is taken to awaken to Love’s embrace?

How long until we realize that we are here,
not to increase net worth,
but to awaken to our own intrinsic value
as Love’s progeny.
You are the hidden heart of the cosmos,
and when we turn our attention to the affairs of the heart,
there we find you,
smiling,
from everywhere and everyone,
joyous to know that another lost soul has been found.
Amen.

Bruce Sanguin

Forgive me most gracious Lord,
if this day I have done or said anything,
to increase the pain of the world.
Pardon the unkind word, the impatient gesture,
the hard and selfish deed,
the failure to show sympathy and kindly help,
where I have had the opportunity but missed it,
and enable me so to live,
that I may daily do something,
to lessen the tide of human sorrow,
and to add to the sum of human happiness.

Anonymous

Learn the alchemy true human beings know.
The moment you accept what troubles
you’ve been given, the door will open.

Welcome difficulty, as a familiar comrade.
Joke with torment brought by the Friend.

Sorrows are the rags of old clothes
and jackets that serve to cover,
and then are taken off.

That undressing,
and the naked body underneath,
is the sweetness that comes after grief.

Rumi

In this century and in any century,
Our deepest hope, our most tender prayer,
Is that we learn to listen.
May we listen to one another in openness and mercy
May we listen to plants and animals in wonder and respect
May we listen to our own hearts in love and forgiveness
May we listen to God in quietness and awe.
And in this listening,
Which is boundless in its beauty,
May we find the wisdom to cooperate
With the healing spirit, a divine spirit,
Who beckons us into peace and community and creativity.
We do not ask for perfect world.
But we do ask for a better world.
We ask for deep listening.

Jay McDaniel

The world is fast losing its soul
but you don’t have to surrender yours.
You don’t have to live on a mechanical globe.
You don’t have to tame your deep-forest passions.
You don’t have to suppress your radiant beauty,

Live your joy,
Go against the grain.
Don’t be made timid by worried rejection.
Let nature’s curious wisdom fill you.
Let the world’s mystical heritage guide you.
Paint your canvasses,
play your tunes.

Give your all to the words that are born from you.
Your father and your father’s heaven
will never abandon you
but always love
the scintilla of your spirit.

Thomas More