When I was growing up, an ice cream cone was a treat. It was a little thing, but it was special. It is often the little things we recall from our past or perhaps they call us.
Great wealth consists in living on a little with a contented mind;
for of a little there is never a lack.
Lucretius, Roman poet c 99 BC – 55 BC, On the Nature of Things Book 5, 1118-1120
photo Suriya Donavanik
Mary Oliver has a way of starting with an idea and then she shifts it so well. She asks questions that provoke more questions than certain answers. Wouldn’t the heavens not have shaken their fist? I think about the ways that the heavens could shake their fist, but Nature does not.
There is patience. What are the little with which the heavens speak of peace. They are countless and, when I open my heart, they find me so easily.
How do the heavens invite us as they open up and invite?
There are days
when the sun goes down
like a fist,
though of course
if you see anything
in the heavens
in this way
you had better get
your eyes checked
or, better, still,
your diminished spirit.
The heavens
have no fist,
or wouldn’t they have been
shaking it
for a thousand years now,
and even
longer than that,
at the dull, brutish
ways of mankind—
heaven’s own
creation?
Instead: such patience!
Such willingness
to let us continue!
To hear,
little by little,
the voices—
only, so far, in
pockets of the world—
suggesting
the possibilities
of peace?
Keep looking.
Behold, how the fist opens
with invitation.
This is a wonderful picture that is all about spring and Easter. It was a great way to conclude the week.
Daffodils donned their May bonnets here at ‘The Farmstead’ in Central Maine today. Wishing you all an amazing week, my friends! ~ Bette A. Stevens
I just finished reading Alan Watt and his book called The Book. He says there is no need to describe and define God. God exists in our inability to define and describe the mystery.
“My brain is only a receiver. In the Universe, there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secrets of this core, but I know that it exists.”
— Nikola Tesla
The present is the whole of the past and future that mingle in the recurring present as holy ground — Alfred North Whitehead
I do not have to go
To Sacred Places
In far-off lands,
The ground I stand on is holy.
Here, in this little garden
I tend
My pilgrimage ends.
The wild honeybees
The hummingbird moths
The flickering fireflies at dusk
are a microcosm
Of The Universe.
Each seed that grows
Each spade of soil
is full of miracles.
And I toil and sweat
And watch and wonder
And am full of love
Living in place –
In this place
For truth and beauty Dwell here.
~ Mary de La Valette
Photo at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/543668986236840425/
This is a great and concise description of what mindfulness is. I love the Mark Twain quote about half way in the article. Despite the simplicity of the article mindfulness is challenging. It is a practice because it takes practice.
It is. Those who value who we are will appreciate our achievements and share our joy.
I have many favourite poets that I always return to at various times. Wendell Berry is one of those poets. The words inspire me to pause, soak them in, and not rush on too quickly.
Sometimes just experiencing the primal world before I think about it is wonderful and filled with wonder as miracles show themselves slowly. It leaves me thoughtful and full of thought as I just, ponder, do not tax my life too much with forethought.
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
There is a lot to read in this post. I took me time and let it soak in.
This is a great picture. I almost missed the crucifix that blends into the the colour of the image.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 