We’re a nation hungry for more joy: Because ...

We’re a nation hungry for more joy: Because we’re starving from a lack of gratitude. BRENÉ BROWN

Heartbreak and hope are not mutually exclusive.

Heartbreak and hope are not mutually exclusive. We can be angry and sad and filled with longing for something we cannot have, and simultaneously we can be grateful for what we’ve got — aware, for reasons we’d never choose, of what really matters and what doesn’t. LENNON FLOWERS 'Hope is the anchor of the soul." Bible "Hope is the expectation of future good." Anon

What an incredible power we have,

to walk through the world, making somebody’s day. KRISTA TIPPETT

Do not feel lonely?

Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you. RUMI

I give thanks for life, for my life, for your life, for all those we carry in our hearts - EVERYDAY!

I give thanks for life, for my life, for your life, for all those we carry in our hearts. I am thankful for the gift of life that offers us free choice, including how we hold the stories and beliefs we carry around about ourselves and reality. We humans are story-tellers. Wisdom elders tell us the world is made up of stories. Stories are energy structures that create and carry meaning. In these rapidly changing and challenging times of teetering on the brink of environmental and social disaster, and millions have already been pushed over by the consequences of a warming world, we must ask ourselves important questions. What does the story of the national day of Thanksgiving bring up for you? As you go forward, what might you make this holiday be for you and your family/friends/community? As the light dims and weakens moving closer to the rich dark time of winter I give thanks for the light of divinity within us all. I give thanks for the seeds of infinite creative potential within us all. I give thanks for life, for my life, for your life, for all those we carry in our hearts. I give thanks for kindness, compassion, caring, generosity, creative expression and beauty. I give thanks for courage, for humor, for the infinite potential within us all. I give thanks for the opportunity of being alive each day to do the best we can to show up and to wake up to see and live the love that we are. I give thanks for We. Ya-wee. Thanks-Giving Blessings to All Love, Tomás Dr. Tom Pinkson www.anewvisionofliving.org "You are a sacred, worthy, luminous being. You are love and your love is for giving." - Dr. Tom Pinkson

Choosing to have joy is not naively thinking everything will be easy

Choosing to have joy is not naively thinking everything will be easy. It is courageously believing that there is still hope, even when things get hard. MORGAN HARPER NICHOLS

Open doors, front and back

Every exit is an entry somewhere else. TOM STOPPARD

Build and become a bridge...

As we build bridges and even become bridges, we will be doing a service to the world. JOHN A. POWELL

I am grateful for all parts of me, including my "ego"

The grateful heart is a manifestation of one’s true self. Nothing sidelines the ego more effectively than a grateful heart. ALBERT NOLAN

FREEING UP OCEANS OF ENERGY

When you let go of trying to get more of what you don’t really need, it frees up oceans of energy to make a difference with what you have. LYNNE TWIST

WHEN IT GETS HARDER TO LOVE..

When it gets harder to love, love harder. VAN JONES Or could it be love "softer", or at least for elders like me..lol

Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution...

Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. ÓSCAR ROMERO

How Self-Compassion can change your life:

A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life. CHRISTOPHER K. GERMIER NOT self-pity which puts you into a needy victim role, which diminishes your life

We have an opportunity to make lasting shifts toward love and justice in our world.

The path forward may sometimes be unclear. And it may be messy. But the shared heart is calling, and we have an opportunity to make lasting shifts toward love and justice in our world. KRISTI NELSON

"The Power of Quiet in a World of Noise"

I will be reflecting on Chapter 1 of the book Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh (aka Thay-teacher). The tag line for the book is, "The Power of Quiet in a World of Noise" In chapter one, "A steady diet of noise", Thay points out the omnipresence of noise in each of our lives. He points out that often we have chosen noise, either external and/or internal, in an effort to avoid the silence which would result. In our meditative practice we have spent much time in following our breath, in calming our mind, and arriving at a spaciousness to observe "what comes up for us". What is in the silence? I am reminded of our Beagle dog that our family enjoyed when I was a kid. Babe loved to chase rabbits. She chased many a rabbit but never caught one - until she did. Babe stood over the rabbit which was on its back. Babe stared at the rabbit and then looked in wonderment at me. The rabbit took that distraction to scramble free and escape. What do we do after we catch our rabbit-Silence? Thay offers that this silence is where we "can come home to our true selves". This is the true gift of our meditative practice. Prior to Monday night I hope you have time to read the chapter. In addition, perhaps ponder these questions. 1. What is one noise-either external or internal- that you know is unhealthy for you, but you have yet to "turn off"? 2. Has an insight into a challenging problem come to you "out of the blue"? If so, were you deep in thought on the problem or doing something unrelated? 3. What is in your silence? I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow night. I look forward to your sharing as I learn so much from the wisdom each of you offer. Thank you 🙏 Dave

Happy Birthday Thay, and MOI~Oct. 14

How the light gets in, doing the best I can...

Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. LEONARD COHEN

LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN TO YOUR HEART'S SONG, TO THEIR HEART'S SONG

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. EPICTETUS

Listen, Listen by Phillis Gershator & Illustrated by Alison Jay

Do you long for a community?

Longing, felt fully, carries us to belonging. TARA BRACH Belongingness is the human emotional need to be an accepted member of a group. Whether it is family, friends, co-workers, a religion, or something else, some people tend to have an 'inherent' desire to belong and be an important part of something greater than themselves. Wikipedia

Can your love a weed?

Anyone can love a rose, but it takes a lot to love a leaf. It’s ordinary to love the beautiful, but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary. UNKNOWN

save MILKWEED, ROUND UP IS KILLING THEM AND KILLING MONARCHS AS WELL.

What are the two L words that are the same in all languages?

LOVE & LAUGHTER

AND THE YEARS GO BY...

There are years that ask questions and years that answer. ZORA NEALE HURSTON

We are never more than one grateful thought away

from peace of heart. BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST

Authentic spirituality is not about escaping to some higher or superhuman dimension,

“True meditation is about being tender yet brave. It’s about slowing down. It’s about saying YES to our gorgeous, broken, tender human hearts, YES to our imperfections and doubts, YES to our pain and sorrow and joy, YES to our imperfect bodies, YES to ourselves, exactly as we are right now. Authentic spirituality is not about escaping to some higher or superhuman dimension, but being more present, awake and alive to the pain and joy, the ache and the glory, the tragedy and the comedy of this One precious human life…” Jeff Foster

ALLOW PEACE TO ENTER MY HEART

Inner PEACE CREATES PEACE IN THE WORLD.

NEVER LOSE YOUR SENSE OF WONDER

To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly. SIDONIE-GABRIELLE COLETTE PLUS NEVER FORGET TO LAUGH AND LOVE!

>Let nothing dim the light...

Let nothing dim the light that shines from within. MAYA ANGELOU

WALKING EACH OTHER HOME

https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/suite#:~:text=We%E2%80%99re%20all%20just,RAM%20DASS WE ARE ALL JUST WALKING EACH OTHER HOME.

Love is all we came here for...STOP ASSUMING AND TAKING THINGS PERSONALLY in the name of LOVE

Everything is ceremony in

Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood. PABLO NERUDA

Look hard to keep intimacy alive:

The story of human intimacy is one of constantly allowing ourselves to see those we love most deeply in a new, more fractured light. Look hard. Risk that. CHERYL STRAYED

Stumbling a lot these days?

Where you stumble, there your treasure lies. JOSEPH CAMPBELL

Helen Keller on a pessimist...

WORD FOR THE DAY No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. HELEN KELLER

Mindful Caregiving:

If God said, "Rumi, pay homage to everything that helped you enter my arms," there is not one experience in my life, not one thought, not one feeling, not any one action I would not bow to. ~Rumi You are enough. ~Thich Nhat Hanh We are the pivotal generation. ~Dalai Lama Being more aware of our present moment experience also helps with self-care, something that caregivers often overlook. With a mindfulness practice you can notice sooner when you feel tired, or are having an emotional experience, and make sure you stop and look after yourself.

Abundant and beautiful

Watch your thoughts, your...

Still, it is more important to be a Human BEING, than a Human "doing". And some enjoy a balance between the two....

There are many fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is yours is the present. GRENVILLE KLEISER

BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

Despite everything, life is full of beauty and meaning. ETTY HILLESUM

DARE TO BE POWERFUL:

When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. AUDRE LORDE

The Perfect response to imperfect people:

Life is imperfect. People are imperfect. Love is the perfect response. KRISTI NELSON

Born happy?

We are all born happy. Life gets us dirty along the way, but we can clean it up. ISABEL ALLENDE I think we are all born "INNOCENT", as there are babies born addicted or full of Mom's drugs...

THE HEALING FIELD, I will meet you there:

Keep WONDER alive:

Never lose a holy curiosity.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Change is inevitable, however change for the good is desirable.

When we change the conversation, we change the future. JUANITA BROWN 157 Synonyms & Antonyms for CHANGE - Thesaurus.comhttps://www.thesaurus.com › browse › change synonyms for change · adjust · alter · diminish · evolve · fluctuate · modify · reduce · reform ...

And I said to my body, softly, “I want to be your friend.”

And I said to my body, softly, “I want to be your friend.” It took a long breath. And replied, “I have been waiting my whole life for this.” NAYYIRAH WAHEED

It's ok to love your body the way it is. - Demi Lovato Your body is just a body. And just a body is already so very much. - Anne-Sophie Reinhardt

The light of love is always in us, no matter how cold the flame.

The light of love is always in us, no matter how cold the flame. It is always present, waiting for the spark to ignite, waiting for the heart to awaken… BELL HOOKS

FREEDOM TAKES RESPONSIBILITY - HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

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