Category Archives: Uncategorized
Such beautiful lessons
Another morning and I wake with thirst for the goodness I do not have. I walk out to the pond and all the way God hasgiven us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord, I was never a quick scholar but sulkedand hunched over my books past thehour and the bell; grant me, in yourmercy, a little more time. – Mary …
Though they sleep
“The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” — Minot J. Savage Dear readers, though I don’t typically re-blog earlier posts, today I wanted to share this one again. Arlington National Cemetery is very much on my mind for so many reasons. May this Memorial Day …
Count on flowers
“No matter how uncertain our world sometimes seems, we can count on flowers to appear each spring.” – Barbara Milo Ohrbach Longtime members of the Defeat Despair community will be familiar with Susan, whom I first met here and whose previous visits have inspired earlier posts. She spent some time with Matthew and me this …
The jangled soul can flee
‘Tis fitting in these days of noise, Here in these thunder years of steam, The soul should keep its equipoise And think its thoughts and dream its dream. We scar the placid vales with mills, We scoop the seas and shear the hills: ‘Tis well that to these temples of the mind The jangled soul …
The quintessential optimist
“The gardener is the quintessential optimist. Not only does he believe that the future will bear out the fruits of his efforts, he believes in the future.” – Joyce Carol Oates Maybe this quote explains why I love few activities as much as taking a walk in a beautiful garden setting. It’s hard to feel …
To share our pain
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.” — Henri Nouwen “…losing love Is like a …
The thing that is left
“As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and …
Conversation partners
“The borders between reading and writing and living are fluid. I do not take time out from life to write, nor do I take time out from life to read. When I quote somebody, I’m not hiding. I’m introducing you to one of my conversation partners.” — Patrick Henry (no, not that one, this one) …
No endings
“There are no endings. If you think so you are deceived as to their nature. They are all beginnings. Here is one.” ― Hilary Mantel “…life is eternal And love is immortal And death is only a horizon Life is eternal As we move into the light And a horizon is nothing Save the limit of our …
Nourishment
“There is nourishment in books, art, history, philosophies—in holiness and in mirth. It is in honest hands-on labor…And it is in the green world—among people, and animals, and trees for that matter, if one genuinely cares about trees.” —Mary Oliver Do you pay as much attention to your psychological nourishment as you do to …
Inverse correlation
“There are things money can’t buy. I don’t think standard of living equates with cost of living beyond a certain point. Good housing, good health, good food, good transport. There’s a point you start getting inverse correlation between wealth and quality of life…I have everything I need to have, and I don’t need any more …
But one has seen
“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is …
The month of expectation
“March is the Month of Expectation.The things we do not know – …” —Emily Dickinson In springtime, we rejoice in what we do know, or have reason to expect: the reflowering of blooming trees and annuals, the lengthening of daylight, the gradual warming and the sheer delight of those first mild, sunny days. Until …
Hard to imagine
“Instead of running away from our loneliness and trying to forget or deny it, we have to protect it and turn it into a fruitful solitude. To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into …
Slow walking
“…as a pilgrim, travel is made holy in its slowness. I see things that neither the passengers of the train nor the drivers of the automobiles see. I feel things that they will never feel. I have time to ponder, imagine, daydream. I tire. I thirst. In my slow walking, I find me.” ― Kevin …
Mostly standing still
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn? Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished. — Mary Oliver Bereavement, grief and aging are slicing through much of what once seemed inviolable …
Rejoice in spring
“I rejoice in the spring, as though no spring ever had been.” —Theodore Roethke Spring was later to arrive this year than I can ever remember. Or did it only seem that way because I was so eager for it? A bit of photographic research gave me the picture above, which I took on March …
Bringing people together
“Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes.” — Clare Ansberry As a context for visiting with neighbors, I think gardening is second only to walking a dog. Whenever I’m out working in the yard or the flowerbeds, I always end up having friendly chats with neighbors who …
Do something
“A good way to rid oneself of a sense of discomfort is to do something. That uneasy, dissatisfied feeling is actual force vibrating out of order; it may be turned to practical account by giving proper expression to its creative character.” —William Morris William Morris certainly earned the right to give us this advice. He …
The fog of the future
“Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now.” – Elisabeth Elliot I’ve heard it said that anger is really fear in disguise, and I’ve seen …
Wonderful silence
“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full …
One day
“I have wandered far upon the desert plain, but in my heart a bird keeps singing, and the daffodils beckon and blow, — and one day I shall wander back.” — Muriel Strode Last week was a good one for me, but it began on a gloomy note. I spent most of the week at …
Neatly-arranged and well-provisioned
“Life, within doors, has few pleasanter prospects than a neatly-arranged and well-provisioned breakfast-table.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne I certainly agree with Hawthorne. Perhaps the beautifully bountiful breakfast was as special in his age as it is in ours; likely even more so. I’m sure the time to enjoy a leisurely morning meal was a luxury for his generation, …
A failure of seeing
“If you think something is ugly, look harder. Ugliness is just a failure of seeing.” ― Matt Haig I bought the lot on which my current home was built because it had trees on three sides. I take a lot of fabulous sunrise photos out the east-facing windows of my home, toward the Potomac River. …
Defeat Despair 