those who’ve fallen through ~mark nepo

Lyn Hartley is an independent educator who lives in the wilds of the Yukon. She tells the story of two skiers crossing a frozen lake at night. Sliding through the snow with flashlights, they came upon a moose fallen through the ice. The enormous creature was stuck shoulder high. It was clear the moose couldn’t get out and they alone couldn’t pull it out. The temperature was dropping. So they stayed through the night and, though the moose resisted, they covered it with their tent; settling in to shine their small lights on its face and on the edges of broken ice, to keep the ice from freezing into shards that would cut the moose. In the morning, when the sun reappeared, they went for help. Together they roped the moose and slowly pulled it to the edge till it could find its own way out.

This is a powerful metaphor

quote du jour ~winnie the pooh – if ever there is…

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together…there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.

~Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne

quote du jour 2 ~bradbury – sometimes you’ve got to…

Sometimes you’ve got to jump off cliffs and grow wings on the way down.

~Ray Bradbury

quote du jour ~muir

The sun shines not on us, but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.

~John Muir

Photo by Lisa Tate

the dangerous terrain of unnecessary dream shrinkage ~danielle laporte

We think that if we slow down that the dream machine will come to a stop. Or if we stop working so damn hard, we’ll have to do without. Or if we stop “processing so much” we won’t get the deep love we crave. Simplifying what you put out doesn’t mean you have to expect less in return. Ease up on yourself, but don’t shrink your dreams.

The cosmos doesn’t measure sweat and hours for reward. The cosmos deals in the currencies of joy and satisfaction.

That means, if easing up makes you happier and more fulfilled, the universe will help you pull it off.

~danielle laporte

To read the rest of the post:
http://www.daniellelaporte.com/creativity-art-design-articles/the-dangerous-terrain-of-unnecessary-dream-shrinkage/

what keeps us from shedding ~mark nepo

Often we give up our right to renewal
to accommodate the anxiety of those
around us.

For sure, living is not easy, and living openly is both wondrous and dangerous. The fact is that shedding, not matter how useful or inevitable, always has a pain of its own. Unfortunately, there is no escaping this underside of growth. So it is not surprising that there are many feelings peculiar to human beings that prevent us from shedding what has ceased to work, including fear, pride, nostalgia, a comfort in the familiar, and a want to please those we love. Often we give up our right to renewal to accommodate the anxiety of those around us.

The Melanesians of the New Hebrides contend that this is how we lost our immortality. Sir James Frazer has preserved their story. It seems, at first, human beings never died, but cast their skins like snakes and crabs and came out with youth renewed. But after a time,

release

Photo by Gregory Colbert

quote du jour ~myss – contain your experience…

Contain your experience with the divine so that it does not escape you but rather shapes you. Be silent. Silence will help you avoid engaging in the games of competition and illusion that regularly seduce us in the outside world. Silence also helps you avoid distraction. It helps focus the busy mind – the mind that always has to be doing something, thinking something, the mind that always has to be otherwise engaged lest it become introspective and allow the soul’s voice to override its own. The silence I am describing is a silence that you use to contain the grace you receive when you enter the Castle of your soul. This quality of silence allows you to engage in discernment. You carry this silence within you, even when you are with others. It allows you to hold your center amid the chaos of your life; it keeps you clear so that you do not do or say things you will regret or make decisions out of fear.

~Caroline Myss

quote du jour ~williamson

The spiritual path…is simply the journey of living our lives. Everyone is on a spiritual path; most people just don’t know it.

~Marianne Williamson

note to self

you must trust.
you must be aware.
you must open your eyes.
you must ask for help.
you must trust.
you must accept that you are extraordinary—in the way that each person is extraordinary in his or her own way.
you are called to be

quote du jour ~levoy – callings…

…callings aren’t fragile, and they don’t give up. You may give up. You may throw up your hands in disgust and despair, but the search party will not retire.

~Gregg Levoy, Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life

homage

Photo by Gregory Colbert