Tag Archives: serenity
Museums, formed from the heart
“In poetically well built museums, formed from the heart’s compulsions, we are consoled not by finding in them old objects that we love, but by losing all sense of Time.” — Orhan Pamuk On a recent day while Matt was at camp, Jeff took a day off from work and we went to the National …
The meaning of immortality
“The wise understand the meaning of immortality, and do not seek the never-changing in the transient.” — Upanishads No small part of my sorrow in life comes from my abiding difficulty in accepting that nothing on this earth will last forever. This reluctance to let go encompasses the entire spectrum of my life, from a …
Tranquility within
“When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.”― François La Rochefoucauld We’ve all known people who are restless and never satisfied. Often these types are blessed with better-than-average advantages in life, but they seem to end up agitated and critical no matter how many times they change …
A morning inside you
“There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into Light.” — Rumi One recent morning, when I was up early, I stepped out onto our deck and was surrounded by the beautiful song of birds and the sound of the nearby creek flowing. Since I had the time, I grabbed my camera to …
Living forward
“Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward.” — Søren Kierkegaard We’ve talked often here about the importance of surrendering the idea of control, and learning to make the best of whatever comes. Setting a course for the future is wise and even necessary, but any plans we make are based …
The ideal of calm
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” ― Jules Renard A year ago today, my post was about the exotic and mostly unknown world of undersea creatures. Today I’m thinking of the wonders that are often hiding in plain sight, among animals we see so often that we scarcely notice them. Dogs, cats, …
The voice of the sea
“The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.” — Kate Chopin The California Coast is wild and beautiful, rocky and cold, pounded relentlessly by crashing surf. Though much of it is …
The rest of the mind
“True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” — William Penn I can’t remember anyone ever describing me as a quiet person, but even so, I am continually amazed at how noisy the world is becoming. Jeff and I can hardly …
Imaginary walking
“One kind of walking which I do not recall seeing mentioned anywhere in the literature of the subject is imaginary walking.” ― Edwin V. Mitchell This post is for Bindu, who took me on an imaginary walk via her blog almost a year ago. A couple of weeks ago when Matt and I had been …
Colorful beacons
“Flowers are those little colorful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark, somber skies blanket our thoughts.” — Dodinsky On the Saturday after Matt had open heart surgery, he seemed to be doing well enough that I decided to take Jeff’s suggestion and go down to the Capitol area to visit …
All now mysterious shall be bright
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake To guide the future, as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below. — Katharina von Schlegel …
Like one of these
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” — Jesus Christ (as quoted in Matthew 6:28-29, NIV) I grew up hearing this verse, and always …
Serenity is contagious
“We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious.” — Satchidananda Saraswati Serenity has never been my strong suit, but maybe that’s why I …
We need quiet
“Others inspire us, information feeds us, practice improves our performance, but we need quiet time to figure things out, to emerge with new discoveries, to unearth original answers.” ― Ester Buchholz Of all the seasons, winter seems most linked with quiet; short days, long nights, the silence of snowfall and the calming blank canvas of …
Nothing is
“Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.”— Thomas Szasz I found it interesting that this quote contrasts boredom with serenity. I would not think of the two as opposites. I would tend to think of anxiety as more the opposite of serenity, although boredom undoubtedly makes everything …
Beautiful and joyful
“Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.” — Elise Boulding …
All is bright
“All is calm, all is bright.” — Fr. Joseph Mohr, as translated by John F. Young Today I’m having to keep telling myself to take a few deep breaths and stay calm. Being so far behind on household tasks such as cleaning and bill paying, as well as trying to enjoy at least some of …
Rejoice in the way things are
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” ― Laozi It sounds good, but it’s sometimes almost impossible to do. Life can be so difficult, and contentment so elusive even in relatively good times. We seem wired to …
A big contribution
“In all your relationships, you’re never too small to make a big contribution, and never too big to make a small one.” — Mardy Grothe Thanks to everyone here who visits here! You have given to us in big and small ways over the past year. I thought all of us could use a mental …
Pleasure in the pathless woods
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more…” —Lord Byron There’s something very calming about nature that neutralizes the toxic overload of a …
Remembering: If you can…
Lines from one of my favorite poems, If by Rudyard Kipling: If you can dream – and not make dreams your master; If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to …
Stimulating loneliness
“The loneliness you get by the sea is personal and alive. It doesn’t subdue you and make you feel abject. It’s stimulating loneliness.” — Anne Morrow Lindbergh I connected immediately with Lindbergh’s words in the quote. I’m seldom if ever at the sea all alone, but it always wraps me in a calming sense of …
A combination
“Home is a combination of human will and divine grace.” — Alexandra Stoddard Whether we live alone or with family, whether we open our doors to traveling friends and adopted animals, or prefer a more solitary life, it takes substantial effort to create and maintain a home. Despite what we sometimes refer to as modern conveniences, the …
Awareness of an audience
“Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience.” — Eric Hoffer While I’m not sure Hoffer’s assertion is 100% correct (and it may depend upon how “glory” is defined), he definitely has a point. Certainly many types of glory for which people strive are closely …
An art of balance
“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter – a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.” — Henri Matisse I understand and agree that art is meant to do a variety of things. …
