Speaking of Spirit

My heart is so heavy with the tragedies of the past months.  I know no other way to respond than to write words that will speak of Spirit, reminding the world that there is Hope, there is Love and there is Peace, if we choose to see it.  I know from the bottom of my breaking heart that we must stop the insanity of killing each other.  We MUST learn to live together in Peace with respect and loving kindness.   Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only Light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only Love can do that."  These are my words of wisdom during these tumultuous times.  May we all find strength in them. Namasté!

Many years ago when I was just a young mother, I wrote my first "professional" article, which was published in the Boston Globe.  In the article, I related how the words of the Prayer of St. Francis had touched my heart and inspired me to look at how I could help bring peace to this tired, war-torn world. As the years passed, I have written and spoken of peace many times.  I have shared the etymology of the word peace as well as looked for inspiration in the holy texts from around the world.  I have even collected quotes about peace that inspired, enlightened and encouraged me. In light of the news this past week, I thought I would share some of the quotes I have collected.  They come from around the world, from various times and by various people.  I pray that they will help you, as you pray for peace, so that the individual prayers we say will gather together spreading out into the Universe, like ripples on a pond, until all that is fills with Peace. ...

The Miracle of Spring - Legend of St Francis By Giotto [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons  As a child growing up, I thought miracles were confined to the pages of holy books.  They were events from a long ago time that happened to saints and sinners who later became saints.  Miracles were cool to read about, but I didn't see them happening in the present. One day, after reading another Lives of the Saints story, I mused aloud that it was too bad that miracles still didn't happen.  My mother stopped what she was doing and asked me to come to her.  She pointed at my baby brother. "What is that?" she asked. "My brother," I answered puzzled. "Yes, but he is also a miracle!  And, for that matter, so are you!" She then launched into a long discussion about how miracles happen every second of every day if we just open our eyes to see them. Over the many years that followed this lesson, I have seen miracles of all sizes and shapes, ...

   The mountains are God's thoughts piled up. The ocean is God's thoughts spread out. The flowers are God's thoughts in bloom. The dew drops are God's thoughts in pearls.   Sam Jones     *~*~*~*   The Birth of the Flowers   by Mary McNeil Fenollosa    God spoke!  and from the arid scene Sprang rich and verdant bowers, Till all the earth was soft with green. ~ He smiled; and there were flowers.     Nature is the armory of genius.  Cities serve it poorly, books and colleges at second hand; the eye craves the spectacle of the horizon; of mountain, ocean, river and plain, the clouds and stars; actually contact with the elements, sympathy with the seasons as they rise and roll. ~~ A. B. Alcott         *~*~*~* Sympathy with Nature is a part of the good person's religion. ~~ F. H. Hedge