"A 10 minute vacation for the soul."
“What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress? Imagine that you are a Masterpiece unfolding every second of every day, a work of art taking form with every breath.”
—Thomas Crum
Please take a few minutes to consider this quote. Journal about it if you wish. How would your life change if you could see yourself as a masterpiece still unfolding?
“I have done what was mine to do. May Christ teach you what is yours.” — St. Francis of Assisi
What is mine to do? This has been the question i have been asking over and over as I have watched our country being torn apart from within. As I have sought my guidance the answer that has come over and over has always been “shine your light.”
But God, I want to DO something. What is mine to do? Shine your light.
But we live at the lake in a rural area. We gave up our car two years ago. How am I supposed to shine my light? I want to be “out there doing something.” Shine your light.
Okay. I do what I can. I pray. I listen. I check in on some of the older widows. I maintain the blog. But that isn’t enough. I want to DO something.
Then it finally hit me. What is mine to do is to encourage people. To let them know there is still hope and light in the world. And that is “enough.”
Why? Because if everyone does what is there’s to do, the world will change.
What is yours to do?
“Whatever life may send your way – make the best of it. Don’t waste your time and energy worrying about it. instead, find a way to do something about it. Learn from it, adjust to it, be strong, be flexible and be your best in every situation.” — Les Brown
Throughout our lives we all encounter people, places and situations that aren’t exactly what we had planned. But in all of life what really matters is how we react. We aren’t always our best in every situation but we can learn, move on and do better next time.
Something to ponder: How can you make the best of those things life sends your way that you might not have planned on? Feel free to journal on this topic or add your comments below. Let’s talk!
“Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”
― Terry Tempest Williams, When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice
Do you remember that the world is meant to be celebrated? How can you sing at dawn and dusk to heal the world through joy?
“We may not be aware of it, but we choose either heaven or hell all the time. Every time we choose to hope, every time we choose to forgive and to let go of our resentments, we choose heaven, we choose life.”
Quoted from Jocelyn Soriano’s blog I Take off the Mask
We choose to make our lives a heaven or hell by our thoughts, word and attitudes. We decide anew everyday. As we walk through this the week before us, let’s stop and consider what we are choosing.
Something to ponder: How are you choosing heaven today?
Now as we get ready to go forth choosing heaven let’s join this joyful group from Open Heart Spiritual Center in I’m Choosing Heaven Today.
“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” — Leo F. Buscaglia
One of the saddest things about being a “grown up” is that we forget to play. Play is one of the most important things we can do. It keeps us young and helps us stretch not just our physical muscles but our creative ones as well. So next time you come across a hopscotch board drawn in chalk on a sidewalk don’t walk around it, jump through it. Stop and admire rocks, leaves, feathers and even sticks. Look up at the sky and see pictures in the clouds. Sing, dance and have fun.
So how are you going to play today? If you need help with this ask a child.
“We are one in essence but not in expression. That’s why it can be so hard to see the God in each of us. We each express it so differently.” — Genie Robbins
We are all unique expressions of God. That does not make any one of us better or worse that the other, just different. But that can be difficult. It is so much easier to see the world in terms of right and wrong, black and white, good and bad. But how’s that working for us? It’s not, is it? Maybe it’s time to change our minds. By not recognizing the unique expression of God in each of us or allowing it to be expressed we are missing out on the fullness of life.
Something to think and talk about:
What are some ways we can recognize and celebrate the unique expression of God that is each of us? Let’s talk!
How often do we stop to admire, enjoy and take in the beauty of this planet we call home? Do we take time of offer joyful praise to the Creator for all that has been given to us?
I have chosen the John Rutter setting of this hymn because of it’s quiet beauty. John Rutter was a favorite composer/arranger of a choir director I sang under years ago so this version has a special place in my heart.
As you listen to this hymn sung by sweet young voices think about what you are grateful for and find your own way to offer joyful praise to the Creator.
“You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator. You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was.”
― Anthon St. Maarten, Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny
You may thinking, am I really all that? Yes, you are. Created in the image and likeness of God, we are all God expressing in, through and as us.
The fabric art pictured above is one of the ways God expresses as me.
What is one of the ways God expresses as you? Please take a minute to ponder this. Please place your best thoughts in the comments, below.
“Listening better. Caring more. Being there. Its not big changes, but the little ones in our daily lives that make all the difference. With little ways to love more, big things happen.” — Yehuda Berg
Over the last few years i have been feeling I have not been doing enough to stop the damage i see being done in and to our world. Sometimes I have felt guilty for living a quiet rather sheltered life at the lake even though Bob and i believe we are here for a reason. When I have sought guidance on what is mine to do all i have received was “Shine you light.’ But I wanted to do more.
I realize now I was wrong. i do what I can, that which right now at this time in my life is mine to do. It is the little things that start with caring for those around us that will lead to big change.
So take time to listen, care and just be there for others. Remember, with little ways to love more, big things happen.
espirational.com