Tag Archives: gratitude
Don’t pass it by
“There it is round you. Don’t pass it by—the immediate, the real, the only, the yours.” — Henry James Until this year, this would be a typical sight for a Saturday in November; Jeff mowing the grass for perhaps the last time until spring. I took this photo seven years ago, but even if I …
What we enjoy
“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment…” — C. S. Lewis Tea. Books. Friends. Flowers. Animals. Family. I hope nobody is getting sick of seeing these and other topics here, over and over, because I have so much fun writing about what I enjoy — including anything …
The incredible gift
“The incredible gift of the ordinary! Glory comes streaming from the table of daily life.” — Macrina Wiederkehar One of the hardest things about the past year has been the need to cancel no fewer than three scheduled visits to see my parents. It’s good that our grandson happened to be born in Atlanta, so I was …
Hope is at the root
“Hope is at the root of all the great ideas and causes that have bettered the lot of humankind across the centuries.” — Ronald Reagan Touring the beautiful grounds of the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, it isn’t hard to understand why he was such an optimist. There’s something about California that always …
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 …
More than a hundred
“One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” — George Herbert Watching someone fight bravely the battles Jeff has fought these past 9 months, it’s easy to get overly sentimental about him. Yet I think I can say without exaggeration that I have never known a man more devoted to his wife and children than …
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 …
Expect nothing
“Expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise.” — Alice Walker It may seem contradictory for a self-proclaimed optimist to quote Walker’s counsel to expect nothing, but there is very real difference between expectation and optimism. Admittedly, optimism involves some expectation, but it is mostly of a general sort. We expect that joy lies ahead if we …
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 …
You should ramble
“To enjoy scenery you should ramble amidst it; let the feelings to which it gives rise mingle with other thoughts; look round upon it in intervals of reading; and not go to it as one goes to see the lions fed at a fair. The beautiful is not to be stared at, but to be …
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 …
A thousand small ways
“When we are willing to be open-minded, art and beauty come flooding into us in a thousand small ways.” — Julia Cameron I tend to think of open-mindedness as a trait useful primarily to our rational minds, vital to the examination of ideas, cultures and opposing viewpoints. Yet there are many ways our minds can be …
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 …
Not a harbor
“The past is a lighthouse, not a harbor.” — origin unknown Change can be difficult even for those of us who crave novelty. It’s especially frightening when we are brought face-to-face with our own mortality, or that of someone we love. If we have been blessed with happy memories to treasure, letting go can be …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Travel the back roads
“To read the papers and to listen to the news… one would think the country is in terrible trouble. You do not get that impression when you travel the back roads and the small towns do care about their country and wish it well.” — Charles Kuralt Recently I’ve had to sharply curtail my exposure …
How we remember
“How we remember, what we remember and why we remember form the most personal map of our individuality.” — Christina Baldwin Among the countless ways my sister has blessed my life, one comes to mind often: she read to me and taught me to read. Over fifty years later, I have wonderful memories of the …
Happy New Year!
“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.” — attributed to Confucius In honor of Chinese New Year, I thought it would be appropriate today to feature this quote from one of the most famous philosophers of all time. This blog was started to help me …
Unlock the fullness of life
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and …
Defeat Despair 