Inspirational quotes
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Nature’s magic show
“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.” ~Mary Oliver I rarely carry or use my cell phone when I’m walking a nature trail. So I’m continually baffled by all the people I see (and hear) who are focused on their phones instead of the beauty all around them. Some are gabbing so loudly that their voices drown out the music of the birds. American poet Mary Oliver is known for her sense of wonder and reverence for the natural world. Her reflective poems illuminate the everyday miracles we might overlook when we’re jogging through the woods or our suburban neighborhoods. As Oliver reminds us, there’s magic in nature…
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Pain management
“Don’t allow your wounds to transform you into something you are not.” ~Paulo Coehlo It’s easy to let our anger, sadness, or disappointment get the better of us at times. We’re only human. But some folks define themselves by their misfortune. They wear their emotional wounds like a badge of honor and seize every opportunity to throw a pity party. Nobody travels through this life without getting hurt, losing people they love, losing opportunities, and suffering trauma. Sometimes we lose faith in ourselves or others, or we lose our way and have to work harder to find our way back. But we can choose to grow from painful experiences or…
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Getting quiet
“There’s a deep, sweet, peaceful sense that comes when wordlessness moves in and the verbal mind drops away.” ~Martha Beck Yesterday I started my routine at sunrise with a mug of coffee, then worked on Monday’s Life Lines post. As soon as I shared that post with all of you, I spent the next few hours finishing a newspaper column before sending it off to the editor. In the evening, my husband and I met another couple for a birthday dinner and chatted for two hours before heading home. That’s a lot of words in one day. After I post this, I plan to savor a quiet morning — a…
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More joy, please
“When we place our attention on joy, we become more joyful. The world seems more benevolent.” ~Martha Beck When I focus on the top stories in the news — an uncertain economic forecast, for starters — I catch myself feeling angry, fearful or depressed. But the worst part, really, is that I lose sight of the goodness in my life. You have to be receptive to moments of joy. And you have to be ready to catch it in unexpected places. While some people think joy can be bought, the brightest sparks of joy are often available free of charge. I find joy in spring gardens that are just waking…
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The one and only you
“Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.” ~Gretel Ehrlich, author Many of us spent our early years trying to conform to the norms or ideals dictated by our parents, peers, religion, and culture. On the other hand, some of us rebelled against them — sometimes for the sake of rebellion, or because we didn’t fit the “perfect” pattern someone else wanted us to follow. Beyond all of this conforming and rebelling is the beautiful, one-of-a-kind essence of who we really are. As today’s thought reminds us, our true nature “invites us” to make that discovery. I’ve learned throughout my life that if I want other folks…
