Oneself

Vestige 2, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The final mystery is oneself.

Oscar Wilde, De Profundis

Knowledge

Shadow 1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     Knowledge implies ignorance of what lies beyond
     what is known. Knowledge is always limited.

        Sri Ramana Maharshi

Secret Destinations

Shirway Gardens 5, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. 

Martin Buber

Life

Reflection (9.16, '12), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Life is a mystery to be lived,

not a problem to be solved. 

Soren Kierkegaard

Emptying

Door Knob, Clarion Tower, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


In my search to see reality in myself, I may come
to the door of perception. But it will not open,
truth will not be revealed, so long as I cling to
what I know. I need to have empty hands
to approach the unknown. 

Jeanne Salzmann, The Reality of Being

Books

Books 1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     One should only read books which bite and sting
     one. If the book we are reading does not wake us up
     with a blow to the head, what's the point in reading?
     A book must be the axe which smashes the frozen
     sea within us.

        Franz Kafka

Poetry

Crucified Wiman, Emmanuel College, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Poetry can tell us what human beings are.

It can tell us why we stumble and fall and how,

miraculously, we can stand up.

Maya Angelou

Wonder

Sunflowers 5, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     Observe the wonders as they occur around you.
     Don't claim them. Feel the artistry
     moving through, and be silent.

        Jelaluddin Rumi

The Metropolis

Wet building (9.14, '12), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


By its nature, the metropolis provides what otherwise
could be given only by travelling; namely, the strange.

Jane Jacobs

Writing

Shadow on Brick Wall (9.16, '12), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     Write what disturbs you, what fear, what you have not been
     willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.

        Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

How to See

CN Tower and buildings (9.14, '12), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


One of the mistakes religions made was
to emphasize "what" to see, instead of "how" to see.

Richard Rohr

Joy

HVUC 16, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Joy is not incidental to your spiritual quest.

It is vital.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

Gratitude

Sunset & Power Lines 5 (9.16, '12), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Gratitude is heaven itself.

William Blake

Memories

Phoenix Rising 1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Memories remind us
how our love continues to eternity.

Richard C. Choe

Blessing

Wall mural, Totonto, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Just to be is a blessing.
Just to live is holy.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Joy

Water Fountain, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.

Julian of Norwich

Outgrown

Evening Sky, September 13, 2012, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


The greatest and most important problems of life are fundamentally unsolvable. They can never be solved, but only outgrown.

Carl Jung

Spiritual literacy

Shadow on a sidewalk 1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     Spiritual literacy is the ability to read the signs written in the
     texts of our own experiences.

        Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life

Choice to make

RIC_8758-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Live then or now.

It's impossible to be

in two places at once.

Mary Anne Radmacher,

Honey in Your Heart

People

Stones and shadow, Five Oaks, Paris, Ontario, Canada, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     People are like stones:
     they are so beautiful, even with all their imperfections.

        Michael George Skibinski [October 21, 1930 - September 1, 2012]


        In Memory of the Rev. Dr. Michael George Skibinski. Mike was a brilliant man with an assuming
        smile and twinkling eyes. I remember him as someone who was always open to new and different
        possibilities. I miss your gentle inquisitive questions, Mike. May you rest in peace.

Embracing Darkness

HVUC 11, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


We do not spring into life perfectly formed. We each have our fault lines, and it is not by turning away from them that life suddenly takes on its full glory. No, I believe that we come to our fullness not in spite of our darkness, but in the embrace of it. 

Roger Housden, Risking Everything

Joy

RIC_8622-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Joy moves at the speed of acceptance.

Mary Anne Radmacher,

Honey in Your Heart

Sunset

RIC_7857-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


One moment your life is a stone in you,
and the next,
a star.

Rainer Maria Rilke, Sunset

Maturity

Brighton's Chimes 1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     The struggle of maturity is to recover the seriousness of a child
     at play.

        Friedrich Nietzsche

Judging

One Eyed Door, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Judging a person does not define who they are.
It defines who you are.

Anonymous

Destination

Corridor, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     It's not where you start from, it's where you are
     going that makes a difference.

        Ben Carson

Errors

HVUC 10, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

A man's errors are his portals of discovery.

James Joyce

Soul

Shadow on a sidewalk 2, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The soul can only be healed through the senses.

Oscar Wilde

Vision

RIC_8724-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

Proverbs 29

Paths

Labyrinth, Five Oaks 1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Paths are made by walking.

Nipun Mehta