Life doesn't ask much of you, considering all it does for you.

 "Life doesn't ask much of you, considering all it does for you."  What a great thought from Susan K. Minarik in this helpful little essay.  Sometimes we just need to stop complaining, take a deep breath, look around, and be grateful for all of the beauty all around us.  It's there if we'll just look and see and appreciate it.  See the full essay here: Gifts of Beauty

Building a park in the sky

The ingenuity of humans is often astounding. Take a moment to see this brief video of a man in New York City who helped turn an old abandoned rail line high above the city into a modern beautiful park. Video on TED.com

What We Need Is Here

“Geese appear high over us,

pass, and the sky closes.  Abandon,

as in love or sleep, holds

them to their way, clear

in the ancient faith: what we need

is here.  And we pray, not

for new earth or heaven, but to be

quiet in heart, and in eye,

clear.  What we need is here.”

~ Wendell Berry, American Poet

The Only Dream Worth Having

"The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead. To love, to be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of the life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all to watch." —  Arundhati Roy, Novelist

Gather up the joys and sorrows...

You are to gather up the joys and sorrows, the struggles, the beauty, love, dreams and hopes of every hour that they may be consecrated at the altar of daily life. ~ MacRina Wiederkehr, Benedictine Sister and Author

Life's Ordeals

Beauty usually requires some imperfection, transgression, or lacuna. The whole of your being, the good and the bad, is the stuff out of which your beauty makes an appearance.  ~ Thomas Moore, The Dark Night of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals

20 Ways to be Encouraged

1.      Pizza and beer

2.     Affectionate kisses

3.     A smile from a passing stranger

4.     Rainy nights

5.     Music

6.     Holding a baby

7.      Watching courage displayed

8.     Displaying courage

9.     Getting a gift

10.  Giving a gift

11.   Seeing a really great movie

12.   Dancing without fear

13.   The greening of the grass and trees

14.   Your pet asleep at your feet

15.   Unexpected praise

16.   Discounts

17.   A project completed

18.  A clean house/apartment

19.   Reading a book you can’t put down

20.  Feeling loved

©2011 Timothy Moody