Wednesday, September 30, 2009

God believes in you


A rustic Russian priest was accosted by a brash young physicist who rehearsed all the reasons for atheism and arrogantly went on, "Therefore I do not believe in God."  The little priest, not put off at all, replied quietly, "Oh, it doesn't matter.  God believes in you."
God believes in us.  God depends on us to help make this world all that God wants it to be.

Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Suffering



When suffering knocks at your door
and you say there is no seat for him,
he tells you not to worry
because he has brought his own stool.

Chinua Achebe

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Spiritual Life

The true task of spiritual life is not found in faraway places or unusual states of consciousness: It is here in the present.  ...  Whatever our initial vision of spiritual life, to be authentic, it must be fulfilled here and now, in the place where we live.

Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstacy, The Laundry

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Temple



Suppose you consider your neighbourhood to be your temple - how would you treat your temple, and what would be your spiritual task there?

Jack Kornfield

Friday, September 25, 2009

Stillness





To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times.

Thomas Merton

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Jump into experience



Jump into experience while you are alive.  ...  What you call "salvation" belongs to the time before death.

Kabir

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Wonder




When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator.

Mahatma Ghandi

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Sowing




You sow a thought, you reap an action.
Reap an action, you sow a habit.
Sow a habit, you reap a character.
Sow a character, you reap your destiny.

Yogi Raman in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Monday, September 21, 2009

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Prefigurative Politics



Prefigurative politics:
means that you can and perhaps ought to embody what you avow - that you cannot get to peace through strife, to justice by bullying; that you win a small victory by embodying freedom, justice, or joy, not just campaigning for them.

Rebecca Solnit, Storming the Gates of Paradise: Landscapes for Politics

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Friday, September 18, 2009

Journey 2


We must embrace the pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.

Kenji Miyazawa

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Saints



Saints are what they are not because of their sanctity but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everyone else.

Thomas Merton

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Simplicity



I have to let go of the need to know so much.  What we can know is so small - the holiness around is so large.  Now I trust in simplicity, simplicity and love.

a Hindu teacher

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Mutuality



If you come here to help me, you are wasting your time.  But if you recognize that your liberation and mine are bound together, we can walk together.

Lisa Watson, an Australian Aborigine

Monday, September 14, 2009

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Life 2


Life is not about avoiding the storm. 
It is about learning to dance in the rain.

a quote on a board at a cancer ward

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Dreamer



Show me a dreamer and I'll show you one of God's heartbeats for the human race.

Joan Chittister

Friday, September 11, 2009

Prayer for the fearful



O Lord, this world is full of fear.
Make my fear into a prayer for the fearful.

Henri Nouwen

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Journey



The longest journey
Is the journey inwards
Of him who has chosen his destiny.

Dag Hammarsköld

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

To know God



But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.

Vincent van Gogh

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Living





He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.


Friedrich Nietzsche






It's not having what you want,


it's wanting what you've got.


Sheryl Crow, Soak Up the Sun

Monday, September 7, 2009

Higher Self


When you yearn for things that you cannot name and you grieve not knowing the course, be certain that you are growing as all things that grow, and rising towards your higher self.

Kahlil Gibran


Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.

Anonymous

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Emancipation



A young monk asked the Master:
"How can I ever get emancipated?"
The Master replied:
"Who has ever put you in bondage?"

Buddhist Teachings

Friday, September 4, 2009

Awakening



If you can’t find the truth where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

Dogen, the founder of Japanese Zen Buddhism

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Hope 3



There is hope in honest error and none at all in the icy perfection of the mere stylist.

A quote on the new Scottish Parliament building.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Tuesday, September 1, 2009