When I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit
on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
unhearable sound of the roses singing.~ Mary Oliver
Everything that is in the heavens, on earth, and under the earth is penetrated with connectedness, penetrated with relatedness.
~ Hildegard of Bingen
Within sorrow is grace. When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open. And in that breaking open, we uncover our true nature.
~ Wayne Muller
This is the pruning period, when life can look pretty drab; the dead branches of our old habits will be lying all around us and the new leaves will not yet have begun to grow.
But for all of us, if we keep at our pruning carefully, the spring is bound to come.
There will still be gardening to do, but when we see our new ways blossoming and the good fruit we have begun to bear for others, this pruning of self-will will be a source of lasting satisfaction.
~ Eknath Easwaran
Most of the time the universe speaks to us very quietly
in pockets of silence
in nature
in the shape of clouds
in coincidences
in forgotten memories
in moments of solitude
in small tugs at our hearts.~ Yumi Sakugawa, Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One With the Universe
[Walking] is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside.
~ Elizabeth von Arnim, The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen
Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.
~ Barbara Brown Taylor
I remember in ’37 when trolley cars were so big in New York. It was five cents for a ride… There used to be open-air buses, and you could go up a spiral staircase and sit up on top. Those were great, great days.
~ Tiny Tim
Around the world–even in some of the countries most troubled by poverty or civil war or pollution–many thoughtful people are making a deep, concerted search for a way to live in harmony with each other and the earth. Their efforts, which rarely reach the headlines, are among the most important events occurring today. Sometimes these people call themselves peace workers, at other times environmentalists, but most of the time they work in humble anonymity. They are simply quiet people changing the world by changing themselves.
~ Eknath Easwaran, Your Life is Your Message: Finding Harmony With Yourself, Others, and the Earth
People say that modern life has grown so complicated, so busy, so crowded that we have to hurry even to survive. We need not accept that idea. It is quite possible to live in the midst of a highly developed technological society and keep an easy, relaxed pace while doing a lot of hard work. We have a choice.
~ Eknath Easwaran, Passage Meditation: Bringing the Deep Wisdom of the Heart into Daily Life
