Tag Archives: appreciation
Stand quietly before them
“We should comport ourselves with the masterpieces of art as with exalted personages– stand quietly before them and wait till they speak to us.” — Arthur Schopenhauer Whenever I visit an art gallery or museum, especially a large one such as my favorite, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, I’m torn between wanting to rush through and see …
Read history
“If you think you have it tough, read history books.” — Bill Maher I’m no fan of Bill Maher, but he has a point about history. It’s a great way to gain some perspective. Not long ago I read Bill Bryson’s fascinating book At Home, and I realized I’d never fully appreciated such things as electricity and sewer systems. From …
God’s handwriting
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” —Charles Kingsley Travel is one of my favorite ways of searching for …
Rejoicing that I’m still here
“Getting older is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wake up every morning rejoicing that I’m still here with an opportunity to begin again and be better.” — Oprah Winfrey A long life is a decidedly mixed blessing. Those of us who make it to our eighth and ninth decades will do …
The sense of the beautiful
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe In the centuries since Goethe penned this sound …
The world would kick the beam
“If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam.” — Henry Bickersteth, Lord Langdale Even after I became a mother, I have never liked Mother’s Day. It seems to me an artificially contrived and ultimately inadequate invention designed primarily to sell cards and …
After ecstasy
“After ecstasy, the laundry.” — Zen saying Perhaps no quote can so succinctly capture the experience of parenthood, especially in its early stages. The unsurpassed joy of holding a newborn baby is quickly tempered by the grinding realities of sleep deprivation, miscellaneous messes to clean up and a never-ending pile of laundry to be done. Yet there is joy even …
To all of you
“I want to say to all of you that are reading this right now: You are not allowed to lose hope, because maybe a miracle will happen. DO NOT LOSE HOPE.” — Malka Chana Roth We interrupt these re-runs to bring you a new real time post. I started this blog seven and a half …
This most amazing day
“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” — E. E. Cummings It’s a bit hard for me to imagine what it would be like living in a town …
Aware of the treasure
“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall …
The gladdest thing
“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay Millay was one of the first poets whose work I loved, and I learned this verse as a girl. I have said it silently to myself countless times over the years. …
Represent civilization
“Be careful how you behave towards wild things – remember that, to them, you represent civilization.” — Ashleigh Brilliant One of my favorite memories about my husband’s late father is the way he loved wildlife. Many a summer’s evening I would be relaxing inside the Tennessee home where Jeff grew up, enjoying one of his …
The thief of joy
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Teddy Roosevelt Which bridge do you like best? Perhaps you favor the sleek, clean lines of the new bridge, and find the older one unattractive. Or maybe you like the ornate and romantic construction of the older bridge, alongside which the new one looks bare and cold. Regardless …
One of the great helps
“One of the great helps to success is to be cheerful; to go to work with a full sense of life; to be determined to put hindrances out of the way; to prevail over them and to get the mastery. Above all things else, be cheerful; there is no beatitude for the despairing.” — Amelia …
It’s helpful to remember
“In times like these, it is helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.” — Paul Harvey Today’s post is dedicated to all of us who are FED UP with: 1. traffic, gas prices and ridiculous parking costs; 2. the hassles of air travel; 3. public bus or rail system problems; or …
Happily ever after
“It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.” — Margaret Bonanno Did you ever wonder why the fairy tales end when the happiness starts? When the character slays the dragon or the enemy, saving the loved one or rescuing the world at large, the story usually ends (or at least …
Every single day
“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.” — Jo Walton Have you ever been outside just as the sun was rising or setting, and thought to yourself that you should make it a point enjoy sunrise, or sunset, more often? So have I. …
Give thanks
“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” — Tecumseh Long before we had any idea Jeff was sick, we planned a …
Welcomed and recorded
“Each thought that is welcomed and recorded is a nest egg, by the side of which more will be laid” — Henry David Thoreau For me, writing is an effective way to train my thinking. I find that most people give more thought to what they write than to what they say, and this may …
The unceasing effort
“Art is the unceasing effort to compete with the beauty of flowers– and never succeeding.” — Gian Carlo Menotti Humans can create stunning works of art, but the best of these only imitate, echo, enhance or complement the beauty found in nature. Art is usually made, at least in part, from materials found in the …
Everybody can be great
“Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”— Martin Luther King, Jr. These beautiful words are being quoted more frequently …
All sorts of folks
“I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take …
Mad with joy
“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” — Iris Murdoch Go a little mad with joy today. Visit a florist or plant nursery, or just the floral department of a grocery store, and take a few minutes to see– …
A wonderful thing
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” ― Voltaire The sixth anniversary of this blog passed recently, without mention by me or anyone else. The giddy hope that inspired a feeling of celebration on the first and second anniversaries gave way to reality, although I did recognize …
A wayside sacrament
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” —Charles Kingsley Dear readers, I’m sitting here in the wee hours of …
