Quotes

Posted by Sierra

"The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not." -George Bernard Shaw

"When I do not walk in the clouds I walk as though I were lost." -Antonio Porchia

"You road I enter upon and look around! I believe you are not all that is here; I believe that much unseen is also here." -Walt Whitman

"From this hour, freedom! From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines, Going where I list, my own master, total and absolute, Listening to others, and considering well what they say, Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating, Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me." Walt Whitman (maybe the quote from the b&w dog poster?)

"Whoever denies me, it shall not trouble me;
Whoever accepts me, he or she shall be blessed, and shall bless me. " -Walt Whitman

"Be not discouraged- keep on - there are divine things
well envelop'd; I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell. " -Walt Whitman

Rain falling at dusk
swept on, on
spilling millions of moons on grass blades -Shoiu (haiku Shane painted on his bookshelf)

To the River Otter

Posted by Sierra
I found this poem last winter and it has stuck with me...
To the River Otter was written around 1793 when Coleridge was just 21 years old. The Otter was the river running through Ottery St Mary in devon, the village where he was born and spent his early childhood.
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To the River Otter- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Dear native Brook! wild Streamlet of the West!
How many various-fated years have past,
What happy and what mournful hours, since last
I skimm'd the smooth thin stone along thy breast,
Numbering its light leaps! Yet so deep imprest
Sink the sweet scenes of childhood, that mine eyes
I never shut amid the sunny ray,
But straight with all their tints thy waters rise,
Thy crossing plank, thy marge with willows grey,
And bedded sand that, vein'd with various dyes,
Gleam'd through thy bright transparence! On my way,
Visions of Childhood! oft have ye beguil'd
Lone manhood's cares, yet waking fondest sighs:
Ah! that once more I were a careless Child!

More Quotes--

Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
and treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Epitaph - thought -
"When you need me, put your arms around anyone and give to them what you need to give to me."

Healing: "God has not promised to take away our trials, but to help us to change our attitudes toward them. That is what basic holiness is. In this life, happiness is rooted in our basic attitude toward reality." Thomas Keating

Wonderful Quotes for Living!

Last weekend I attended a Women's Retreat with 37 women from my church. We had a great time and a very good speaker who had lots of great quotes - here are a few.

We all live far more meaningful lives than we know. Uncovering this meaning does not require us to live differently but to see life differently. Rachel Naomi Remen

Like a path through the forest Sabbath creates a marker for ourselves so, if we are lost, we can find out way back to our center. Remember the Sabbath means remember that everything you have received is a blessing. Remember to delight in your life, in the fruits of your labor. Remember to stop and offer thanks for the wonder of it. Wayne Muller

Every morning you rededicate yourself to your path in order not to go astray. Before going to sleep at night, take a few minutes to review the day. Did I live in the direction of my ideals today? If you see that you took two or three steps in that direction, that is good enough. If you did not, say to yourself, I'll do better tomorrow. The next morning when you wake up, resolve to take solid steps in the direction of your ideals. Don't compare yourself with others. Just look to see whether you are going in the direction you cherish. Thich Nhat Hanh

Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? Tao Te Ching

An anthropologist, following a primitive tribe in Peru, watched as they moved every day for awhile. Then they stopped for awhile and he asked them why. They said they need the time of rest so that their souls can catch up.

The Bridge to New Life

Recently as I walked in the park, I was dealing with my feelings of deep grief again. I came to the little bridge that had been built over the creek, an open metal grate kind of bridge that allows you to see down into the depths, a type of bridge that has always frightened me when it was really high, like a drawbridge over some bay that is a hundred feet above the water or a deep ravine. Here it was not very high or frightening but it made me contemplate some thoughts about where I am in life and what I am dealing with. I see myself on a bridge, trying to cross over into a new integration of the grief over Shane's death and general regrets about things undone in life - the death of dreams - to some kind of reconciled life where I can make plans for a future. I've been stalled in my path and I need to cross this bridge. But this bridge allows me to see into the abyss and I am afraid to look at the depths of my fears, afraid to really face what has happened and how much my life has changed. The open grate looks like too fragile a support to hold me up - if I look into the depths, will I fall? My support system is the Lord - therefore it will hold if I trust it, but my fears are irrational and I am trying to get over it. Taking small baby steps, walking slowly, looking at the abyss in small doses. What is in the abyss? Death, and all the fears that humans associate with it. Shane's death, in particular, the details of it, the horror of it, which leads to fears of future losses, yet at the same time reassures me that I will somehow cope. It is this sense that I have entered new territory, where losses become regular occurrences and I don't know if I can stand to look that reality in the face. I have to cross this bridge. I have to move into acceptance of a new life. Recent dreams about going through passages where doors locked me behind so that I could not go back to where I was have confirmed my understanding that I have to cross this bridge. I have taken a few steps but my sense is that I still have quite a length of bridge to walk, walking "that lonesome valley" - but in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil! That will be my cry as a warrior who must push past fear to be victorious.

New Life July 18

Since I last wrote, right after that we got a contract on the house and that process is moving along. But this has still been a very sad month or two for me. I have been going to some counseling, trying to come to terms with how I feel right now, and progress is being made there as well. Taught a class last night, the second in a series of 2, on establishing a nonprofit. I had such dreads about it, and it wasn't as much fun as the eBay class, but at the end last night I got thanks from the students and generally good evaluations. I guess I will do it again, but I have just felt overwhelmed with lots of things to prepare for - I also agreed to do a presentation to teachers at Summer Conference next week, and I really have nothing to say (God help me find something interesting!). Donald and I went birdwatching at the swamp on shady Grove yesterday morning and I saw a Black Crowned Night Heron - that was good. And some pink swamp mallow flowers that were just gorgeous - that swamp is so pretty! This weekend I agreed to go with Carla to meet our cousins in chattanooga - I hope that turns out well - Libby has recently lost her husband, so maybe this will be good for her. Mostly right now I am just looking forward to finishing the house closing and getting on with making some plans from there - I feel like we have been on hold for more than a year - yet we had a wedding! Oh, well, life does move along, despite everything!

Life goes on

Si I have not written a word in two months - what have I been doing? Slogging through life, wondering what the next stage will bring, whether anything interesting will happen. We are in a holding pattern, depressed over various situations such as the southside house not selling, and just blah. Still, there are good things every day. I am finally having time to finish some quilting projects started long ago. We went up to the Lodge last Friday night and enjoyed that as always - the weather was great. Sunday night we had Wes and Amanda over for dinner and we all love them. But truly, we are all tense and angry and wondering what to attribute that to. I have made an appointment with the grief counselor for Wednesday, just wanting to talk to someone, trying to decipher whether a lot of the feeling really relate back to that. It seems like most everyone I know is currently disturbed. Except Jerry, I guess, - we ate with her and Jerome Saturday and she seems very happy. And while I am happy for her, I had hoped to have someone there that I could cry with, and that is not possible. I cried a couple of times yesterday - once when I heard a piece on NPR about a group of women who meet together regularly to talk about their sons who have died in the war - it made me wish so bad that I had someone to share that with. Donald and I are going to the cemetery this morning - that may not help but I just feel like I need to. After crying so much yesterday I felt sick and wimpy, and still feel rough this morning, but hope that enough crying will help ease some of the bad feelings - we will see.