Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Love

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.  Mother Teresa

What you love is a sign from your higher self of what you are to do. Sanaya Roman

Always remember our poetry wars with a smile; you are a fun-loving, talented, beautiful woman. For fun, write a haiku about something that makes you laugh. ~Shaun
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Ahhh poetry wars…  Shaun thank you again for this reminder of that fun time.  We would sit in game and try to outdo each other in poetry.  Some was good, some was just…. Well…. Awful lol, but it was always fun.  

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Such great quotes today.  I’m really glad I started pulling these again.  Thank you also to those who emailed me the contributions you would like to see.  I’m still accepting them so if you see a great quote or poem or something that you would like to have shown here if I pull it that day, then please keep sending them to my email.

And now onto today’s topic.  I’ll try to be brief after the novel I wrote yesterday :P  

No matter how much it may feel right to withhold information from another at the time you’re in the thick of it…. realize that if you even HAVE that thought, that’s your conscience telling you NOT to do it.  There is nothing I can think of that should be withheld from someone.  Truth is always the better path to walk even if it seems dark.  Most importantly if you’re trying to build a friendship or a deeper connection with someone the LAST thing you want to do is hold back from telling them all.  Inevitably it will be discovered no matter what “it” is and trust me, knowing sooner rather than later is a much more plausible way of dealing with things.

(I may post again later, but Crony and the hens are in so this has to be short, so enjoy my copy and pastes ;)

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And now a little word from a great place I frequent:  DailyOM

The Practice Of Serenity
Personal Peace
In our noisy world, we often find ourselves longing for peace and searching to find it somewhere else. While it's true that there are places we can visit where we can experience peace, such as sacred sites or buildings, we do not need to wait until we get to one of these places to feel at peace. Instead, we can learn to locate the seed of peace inside ourselves and cultivate it so that it grows into a reliable source of serenity that we can always access, no matter where we are.

We experience peace when we are in a state of mental calm and serenity. It might surprise you to notice how infrequently you allow yourself to be free from anxiety. Realizing this is the first step to inner peace. If you wait until all the details of your life are taken care of to allow yourself to experience peace, you will never feel peaceful because there is always something that your mind can grab onto to create anxiety. It is important to consciously set aside your worries and make time to cultivate inner peace.

Ideally, you could schedule time each day to meditate on peace and experience what it feels like to be calm and serene. It takes practice to learn how to let go of your worries, so give yourself some time. Inhale deeply, and feel your worries dissolve with every exhale. Remind yourself that soon enough you will be able to take care of everything you need to, but right now you are taking a break. As the clutter of your thoughts and concerns clear away, you will start to feel more serene. Allow yourself to move deeper into this state with each inhale. Realize that you have the power to free yourself from anxiety simply by deciding to do so. The more you practice feeling peaceful, the easier it will be for you to feel at peace.

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WELL WISHES
Today I wish you all the flexibility to practice serenity.  Take some time in your day (5 minutes even) and re-center, re-ground and re-open your eyes.  May your spirit soar free today.

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AND REMEMBER:
"But sometimes, unexpectedly, a quiet moment finds us and we drop down into the life we have beneath all the rushing and the trying and the endless daily details, sinking into the fertile soil of the sometimes neglected inner life, where the seeds of remembering what matters are planted. What comes from that place when we give it half a chance flowers in our lives and the world, creating unexpected changes in the direction of our journey and offering unanticipated blessings to us and those around us."~Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

© Mountaindreaming, from the book The Invitation published by HarperSanFrancisco, 1999 All rights reserved