Hold on to What is Good

Hold on to what is good

even if it is

a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe

even if it is

a tree which stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do

even if it is

a long way from here.

Hold on to life even when

it is easier letting go.

Hold on to my hand even when

I have gone away from you.

Nancy Wood - 1974

Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

                       Howard Thurman

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

       Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

       Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Quero Apache Prayer

Looking behind I am filled with gratitude.

Looking forward I am filled with vision.

Looking upwards I am filled with strength.

Looking within I discover peace.

Like a Child

Every child has known God,

Not the God of names,

Not the God of don'ts,

Not the God who ever does anything weird,

But the God who knows only 4 words.

And keeps repeating them, saying:

"Come Dance with Me, come dance."

Hafiz

Beginning to Be

It is I who must begin...

Once I begin, once I try...

here and now,

right where I am,

not excusing myself

by saying that things

would be easier elsewhere,

without grand speeches and

ostentatious gestures,

but all the more persistently

to live in harmony

with the “voice of Being,” as I

understand it within myself

as soon as I begin that,

to my surprise, that

I am neither the only one

nor the first,

nor the most important one

to have set out

upon that road...

Whether all is really lost

or not depends entirely on

whether or not I am lost.

Vaclav Havel

Dialogue

HOW THE SOUL SPEAKS TO THE GOD:

Lord, you are my lover, my longing,

My flowing stream, my sun,

And I am your reflection.

HOW GOD ANSWERS THE SOUL:

It is my nature that makes me love you often,

For I am love itself.

It is my longing that makes me love you intensely,

For I yearn to be loved from the heart.

It is my eternity that makes me love you long,

For I have no end.

Mechthild of Magdeburg - 13th century

Two from Anne Lamott

Laughter really is carbonated holiness.

Lighthouses don't go running all over the island looking for boats to save They just stand there shining.

The magnitude of the present catastrophe

so nearly extinguishes the light.

Are we the light as our scriptures say?

If so only a faint bit of light in the distance

So dim.

Can it be that this light will shine brightly one day

When we can love each other with no qualifications?

I have heard that light will always overcome darkness.

Where is this light today?

Maybe this light is the little things that we do that give witness to the gratitude that we have. 

One little light in the darkness is certainly better than a burned out candle.

                 

                  T. J. Grey

from Richard's Garden

My enjoyment of gardening had little to do with the yield. Planning and executing and nurturing were what I enjoyed most. The yield was of secondary importance. I miss that since trying to develop the community garden. It is important to me that I reclaim that innocence and enjoyment.

I am certain that the only way that we can be reconciled to one another is if we have the love of God in our hearts. This does not sound very sophisticated and in fact is not very sophisticated.

It is so simple. All that I must do to make room for God's love is to realize and accept the fact that it isn't about me and what I want. It is about others and what others need. It seems to me that this is the essence of the Christian faith. Everything that I am reading in the bible points to this. Would that I could just fill every heart in the world with God's love. I can't do that but I can share God's love with the people that I am around.

Fear not. One day death will visit you and there will be nothing that you can do to stop it. “Work for the night is coming.” the old hymn says. Live life while you have life to live. Do not waste the life that God has given you.

Verse #4 of Amazing Grace

The Lord has promised good to me.

His word my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be

As long as life endures.

I have found that the Lord has already made good on his promise. I have received so much beyond what I deserve. I realize more strongly each day just how much I owe to those who shared God's love with me. How can I repay them? I can't but I can share the love that they shared with me with others.

The grace of God fills my heart to overflowing and I can only cry, “Thank you God” as I share my abundance with others. It makes no sense in the world of “it's all for me” –

       T. J. Grey