WonderGaze

By words

2012-02-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_3986, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

By words our thoughts are given wings.

Glenn Dixon, Pilgrim in the Place of Words: A Journey Through the 6,000 Languages of Earth

Beginning

2012-02-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_4533, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Once we’ve thrown off our habitual

paths, we think all is lost; but it’s only

here that the new and the good begins.

Leo Tolstoy

Wholeness

2012-02-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_9906, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Wholeness is not the product of self-sufficiency or

independence, but rather of the genuinely inclusive

communion that results from sharing our humanity

with one another in light of the grace of God.

Thomas E. Reynolds, Vulnerable Communion: A Theology of Disability and Hospitality

Limits of my world

2012-02-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

DSC_1692, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The limits of my language mean

the limits of my world.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

To be hopeful

2012-02-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_2293, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

To be hopeful,

to embrace one possibility after another – that is surely the basic instinct.

Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson

Caring

2012-02-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_2020, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Healing begins with caring.
So does civilization.

Bill Moyers, Healing and the Mind

Home

2012-02-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_5010-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

You need to be away from yourhomeland to really understand its hold on you.

Judy Fong Bates, The Year ofFinding Memory

Love and Honesty

2012-02-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_2046, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

If you did not truly love another

and feel confident that the love

was returned, one could never be

completely honest.

Quoting her friend Lucy Grealy,

Ann Patchett, Truth & Beauty: A Friendship

Prayer

2012-02-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

_DSC6813, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

I hold on to my adopted shore, chanting private vows:

wherever I am, let me never forget to distinguish want from need.

Let me be a good animal today.

Let me dance in the waves of my private tide,
the habits of survival and love.

Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson

Daily Mantra

2012-02-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

_DSC6744, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Don't make things more complicated

than they need to be.

Ali Edwards

Seeing

2012-02-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

_DSC6992, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Nothing here below is profane

for those who know how to see.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Self

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9751_edited-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Loneliness is the poverty of self.

Solitude is richness of self.

May Sarton

Purpose & Kindness

2012-01-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_7779-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Lord, let me shake

With purpose. Wild hope can always spring

From tended strength. Everything is in that.

That and nothing but kindness.

James Dickey, The Strength of Fields

Fun

2012-01-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_7996-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The world is magical;

there are good people in it.

Inherent in life is fun.

Alice Walker,

The Same River Twice: Honouring the Difficult

Business of our lives

2012-01-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_8694, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Here we have a prospect of one common interest

from which our own is inseparable, that to turn all the

treasures we possesses into the channel of Universal

Love becomes the business of our lives.

John Woolman

Secrets of Tomorrow

2012-01-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_7581-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

What you learn today, for no reasonat all, will help
you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.

Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

Optimism

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_9929, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.
Because unless you believe that the future can be
better, you are unlikely to step up and take
responsibility for making it so.

Noam Chomsky

What lies within us

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_0691, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

What lies behind us and what lies

before us are small matters when

compared to what lies within us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love is the way to feel

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_6791, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Whatever happens or don’t. Love is the way to feel.

Alice Walker,

The Same River Twice: Honouring the Difficult

Labyrinth

2012-01-24T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_7641-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

There are no blind ends in alabyrinth, the path often doubles

back on itself, the direction forward whichwe are facing is

continually changing, and if we do not turn back or give up

we will reach the centre to find the rose, the Goddess, the

Grail, a symbolrepresenting the sacred feminine. To return

to ordinary life, we much again travel the labyrinth to get

out, which is alsoa complex journey for it involves

integrating the experience intoconsciousness, which is what

changes us.

Jean Shinoda Bolen, Crossing to Avalon

The one and only one

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9608_edited-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Only you can make your mind up!

You’re the one and only one.

Theodor S. Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, Hunches in Bunches

Sympathy

2012-01-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_0715, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Sympathy is a consequence of inclusion, the affectionate

result of an expanded identity that occurs when “self” and

“other” are recognized as simply “self.”

Lin Jensen, "Having the Lake to Ourselves”
in The Best Buddhist Writing 2011, ed. by Melvin McLeod

Art

2012-01-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_8638, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.

Pablo Picasso

What do you want of your life?

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_6610, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

I askedmyself the question, "What do

you want of your life?" and I realized

with a start of recognition and terror,

"Exactly what I have – but to be

commensurate, to handle itall better.

May Sarton, Journal of a Solitude

Seeing

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9719-3, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The meaning of life is to see.

Hui Neng

Art is the mirror

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9647-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Art is the mirror, perhaps the only one,

in which we can see our true collective

face. We must honour its sacred

function. We must let art help us.

Alice Walker,
The Same River Twice: Honouring the Difficult

Doorway to God

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_6161, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The wailing of broken heart is the doorway to God.

Rumi

Monoculture

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_1860, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The governing pattern a culture obeysis a master story – one

narrative in society that takes over the others,shrinking

diversity and forming a monoculture. When you’re inside a

masterstory at a particular time in history, you tend to

accept its definition ofreality. You unconsciously believe and

act on certain things, and disbelieveand fail to act on other

things. That’s the power of the monoculture; it’s ableto

direct us without us knowing too much about it.

F. S. Michaels, Monoculture: How One Story IsChanging Everything

Adventure

2012-01-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9915-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Adventure is stepping through brand-new doors with your mouth shut and your eyes wide open.

Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson

Learning

2012-01-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_9722_edited-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

... that is what learning is.
You suddenly understand
something you've understood all your life,
but in a new way.

Doris Lessing

Being Alive

2012-01-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9807-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

I will not be just a tourist in theworld of images, just
watching images passing by which I cannot live in, makelove
to, possess as permanent sources of joy and ecstasy.

Anais Nin

Gratitude

2012-01-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_8419, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

At times our own light goes out andis

rekindled by a spark from another

person. Each of us has cause to think

with deep gratitude of those who have

lighted the flame within us.

Albert Schweitzer

the grain of sand

2012-01-11T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_9880-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

It is not the road ahead that wears you out – it is the grain of sand in your shoe.

Arabian Proverb

Returning thanks

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_3648, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.

Saint Ambrose

But the question

2012-01-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_8823-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

It's not the answer that enlightens, but the question.

Eugene Ionesco

Courage, Hope & Strength

2012-01-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_9351, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

However confused

the scene of our life appears,

however torn we may be

who now do face that scene,

it can be faced,

and we can go on to be whole.

Muriel Rukeyser

from within

2012-01-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_7529-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Life rushes
from within …

Willa Cather

Within yoyurself

2012-01-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

_DSC6719, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Why should you look for treasure abroad?

Within yourself you have a bright pearl.

Pao-Chi

Who you are

2012-01-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_4403, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

You cannot determine who you are bywhat you do.

M. Craig Barnes, The Pastor As Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts inthe Ministerial Life

by what we love

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_5950, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Images

2012-01-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_1291, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Illustrations tell stories that exemplifythe point of
the text. Images embody thepoint.

M. Craig Barnes,
The Pastor AsMinor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life

Goodness

2012-01-02T00:01:00.001-05:00

RCC_7302, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Goodness is the only investment that never fails.

Henry David Thoreau

Every Moment

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9711_edited-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Cancer changed the way I ate, slept, and most importantly
the way I live. Before cancer I was like most folks, just
cruising along. It was during my treatment, when starting
to discover what cancer could give to me — the ability to
absorb every moment as if each one were my whole life.

Eric Smith, Live Now: Artful Messages of Hope, Happiness & Healing

Doorway

2011-12-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_8733, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Wherever you are is the entry point.

Kabir

Transformation

2011-12-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9720-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The meeting of two personalities

is like the contact of

two chemical substances:

if there is any reaction, both

are transformed.

C. G. Jung

What lies within us

2011-12-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9611-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The more articulate one is, the more
dangerous words become.

May Sarton

Interdependence

2011-12-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9702_edited-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

In and of itself, nothing really matters.
What matters is that nothing is ever “in and of itself.”

Chuck Klosterman, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs*

Miracles

2011-12-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9660_edited-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Most miracles, like everything else,

are firmly rooted in who we are.

Iris Sangiuliano, In Her Time

Wonder

2011-12-26T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_9753-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Never say there is nothing beautifulin

the world anymore. There is always

something to make you wonder in the

shapeof a tree, the trembling of a leaf.

Albert Schweitzer

Stories

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

_DSC5276, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The universe is made of stories, not atoms.

Muriel Rukeyser

Icon

2011-12-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_0088, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

An icon is designed to be not a beautiful

work of art, but a window into divine

mysteries. It points beyond itself.

M. Craig Barnes, The Pastor As Minor Poet: Texts and

Subtexts in the Ministerial Life

Dare to be oneself

2011-12-23T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_9757-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

We have to dare to be be ourselves,

however frightening or strange

that self may prove to be.

May Sarton

Attitude

2011-12-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_9907, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

If you can’t change your fate, change
your attitude.

Amy Tan

Image

2011-12-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_9742-2, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The image is not an idea. It is a radiant
node or cluster, it is what I can, and
must perforce, call a vortex, from
which and through which and into
which ideas are constantly rushing.

Ezra Pound, Gaudier Brezeska: A Memoir

Fear

2011-12-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9657_edited-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swingyou around is another.

KatherinePaterson

Complete

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_5016-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

It is better to be complete thanperfect.

C. G. Jung

Compassion

2011-12-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_6780, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

What I want in my life is compassion,

a flow between myself and others based

on a mutual giving from the heart.

Marshall B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

Art

2011-12-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_4976-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

A work of art is a gift, not a commodity.

Lewis Hyde,

The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World

Question to ponder

2011-12-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_4007, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

What can we gain by sailing to the moon

if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?

Thomas Merton, The wisdom of the Desert

Making peace with our shadow

2011-12-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_1954, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Making peace with our shadow and befriending it are
fundamental to authentic self-esteem.

John Monbourquette, How to Befriend Your Shadow: Welcoming Your Unloved Side

Grief

2011-12-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_8256, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

You can never get enough of what you don’t really want.

Eric Hoffer

Justice

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_7853, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

If I am not a man here, you are not a man here.

James Baldwin,

The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings

God

2011-12-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

RIC_9639-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The God who is present to us is present
to others as well. The God who guides
us guides others also; the God who
cares for us cares also for others. The
whole world is touched by God,
and therefore the world can mediate
God’s presence to us.

Marjorie Suchocki,

God, Christ, Church: A Practical Guide to Process

Theology

Gift

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_6619, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

A gift that cannot be given away ceases to be a gift.

Lewis Hyde, The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World

Looking Inward

2011-12-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_2148, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

We have been to the moon, we have charted the depths of
the ocean and the heart of the atom, but we have a fear of
looking inward to ourselves because we sense that is where
all the contradictions flow together.

Terrence Mckenna

Unity

2011-12-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_0718, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn.

Ethiopian proverb

Imperfection

2011-12-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9404-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

To deny imperfection is to disown
oneself, for to be human is to be
imperfect.

Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham,

The Spirituality of Imperfection

Living

2011-12-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_9822, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr

I could livemy life believing there are no miracles, no magic

and no deeper meaning; or Icould believe that the

impossible is possible, that the heart can love in all

circumstances, that hope is infinite, promises are forever.

Leanne O'Neil

Unawareness

2011-12-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_0192, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Unawareness is the root of all evil.

Anonymous Egyptian Monk

Greatest Obstacle

2011-12-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_2127, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The greatest obstacle is simply this: the conviction that we
cannot change because we are dependent upon what is
wrong. But that is the addicts’ excuses, and we know that it
will not do.

Wendell Berry

Peaceful Revolution

2011-12-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9580-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make
violent revolution inevitable.

John F. Kennedy

Wisdom

2011-12-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_0694, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

All wisdom is plagiarism; only stupidity is original.

Huge Kerr

Terror

2011-12-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_0199, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Everything terrifyingis, in its deepest being, something
helpless that wants our help.

Maria Rilke

Fear

2011-12-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9552-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Some of the worst events in my life never happened.

Mark Twain

Creature

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9589-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

There is a crack in everything God has made.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Idea

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

DSC_1566, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr

It is better to die for an idea that will live
than to live for an idea that will die.

Steve Biko

The light, not the lamp

2011-11-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_9556, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Worship the light, not the lamp.
The lamps are different, the light is the same.
It comes from the Beyond.

Rumi

Your Identity

2011-11-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_6803, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a

place in you where you have never been wounded, where

there’s a seamlessness in you, and where there is a

confidence and tranquility.

John O’Donohue

Salvation

2011-11-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9420-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Salvation lies in remembrance.

Baal Shem Tov

Imperfections

2011-11-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

RCC_4017, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

It's the imperfections that make the charm.

Rebecca Moses

Story Telling

2011-11-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9581-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

A story must be told in such a way it constitutes help in
itself. My grandfather was lame. Once they asked him to
tell a story about his teacher. And he related how his
teacher used to hop and dance while he prayed. My
grandfather rose as he spoke, and he was so swept away by
his story that he began to hop and dance to show how the
master had done. From that hour, he was cured of his
lameness. That’s how to tell a story.

Martin Büber

Basic Truths

2011-11-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9442-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

What we call basic truths are simply the

ones we discover after all the others.

Albert Camus

Belief

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9380-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Belief is grace.

Northrope Frye

Wisdom

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9499-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Wisdom is knowledge plus:
knowledge – and the knowledge of its own limits.

Victor E. Frankl

Seeing

2011-11-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_7678-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

We don't see things as they are;

we see them as we are.

Anais Nin

Stories

2011-11-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9595-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

We often need to tell our stories over and over, not

because we are forgetful or compulsive, but because their

meaning is too great to be digested in any one telling.

So we recount them, again and again, till we can absorb

their meaning and learn to love each other on the way.

Mark Nepo, As Far As the Heart Can See

Inclusion with Justice

2011-11-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9501-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

To be “included” is not the same as
“being fully welcomed” or as being
“equally treated and respected.”

Fernando A. Cascante, Journal of Race, Ethnicity and

Religion Vol. 1, 2010, A Decade of Racial/Ethnic

Diversity in Theological Education: The Continuous

Challenge of Inclusion with Justice

The road to freedom

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9556-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

“Why is the road to freedom so long?"

Asked a troubled apprentice.

And the master replied,

“Because it has to go through you.”

Zen story

Love

2011-11-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9377-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Love is the extremely difficult
realization that something other than
oneself is real.

Iris Murdoch

The world

2011-11-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9436-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable.

Martin Büber

Staying close

2011-11-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_9371-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Since everything is sacred, staying close to what is sacred is
a matter of presence and attention more than travel to
some secret place. In essence, staying close is a pilgrimage
to the heart of where we are.

Mark Nepo, As Far As the Heart Can See

Inspiration

2011-11-14T00:02:00.000-05:00

RIC_6553-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Inspiration doesn’t descend like a
lightning bolt from the gods. Inspiration
comes instead from a steady breath, a
solid foundation, and a commitment to
the process.

Laraine Herring

Love

2011-11-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

RC1_7730, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The love of a single heart can make a world of difference.

I believe that we can heal Rwanda – and our world – by

healing one hear at a time.

Immaculée Ilibagiza, Left to Tell

Truths beyond itself

2011-11-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_8679-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths

beyond itself.

Anais Nin

The Path

2011-11-11T01:14:00.001-05:00

RIC_9514-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The obstacle is the path.

Zen proverb

Presence

2011-11-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

RIC_8532-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

As long as there is a lower class, I am in it.
As long as there is a criminal element, I’m of it.
As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free.

Eugene Debs