You are not a drop in the ocean,
you are the ocean in one drop.
~ Rumi
According to my A Year with Rumi: Daily Readings , yesterday (September 30th) was the birthday of the renowned Sufi mystic poet back in 1207. That’s over 800 years ago, and his work endures perhaps more than ever as the world around us becomes increasingly bizarre and uncertain.
Continue readingLarge fires start small. ~Smokey the Bear
A well-known adage about forest fires, and commonly seen on materials promoting outdoor fire safety, it is simple, concise and true. The vast majority of raging bush fires got their start as a stray campfire ember, a spark from machinery, a carelessly discarded cigarette butt, or perhaps even a glass lens which just happened to be positioned in such a way as to focus the sun’s rays on a tiny spot of dry duff.
Forest fires are scary and destructive. But the notion of large fires starting small can also be adeptly applied to ideas and initiatives. Continue reading
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. ~Danish Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard
I was recalling this quote–though had forgotten its exact wording–while I was writing the previous blog post Letting go without losing control, during this COVID time. At first I was thinking sure we can only live life forwards but, even when we look backwards, Continue reading
In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to. ~Dave Hollis
As governments, leaders, and the broad population, begin looking ahead to the COVID world past the hump of “the curve” it might also be worthwhile to look back at the past 6-8 weeks so that we can move forward with intention. Continue reading
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”
It’s probably not a big surprise to learn those words are attributed to John Muir, naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. Continue reading
“Expectation is premeditated disappointment.”
The adjective “pithy” is defined as: precisely meaningful; forceful and brief. And the quote above, from Margaret Wheatley’s book So Far From Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World, is a primo example of a pithy observation if there ever was one. Continue reading
“The longest journey sometimes is between your mind and your heart.”
These words, belonging to Native American activist Tom B.K. Goldtooth, speak to what can sometimes be a great divide, a deep and wide valley to cross as we seek to balance and reconcile two essential elements of our being as humans. Continue reading
“The easiest and least expensive upgrade is gratitude.”
I feel a bit sheepish inaugurating this blog with a quotation of my own devising, but gratitude has been muchly on my mind. Phones, devices, and technology are symptomatic of our tendency to want the latest and greatest. And it extends to so many aspects of our lives… Continue reading
