Back to self

Now it is basic mythological principle, I would say, that what is referred to in mythology as “the other world” is really (in psychological terms) “the inner world.” And what is spoken of as “future” is “now.”*
Joseph Campbell

It is far better for us to return to our own unique and soulful cycles regularly, all of them, any of them.**
Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Each day
sweeps us away
from ourselves,
Out out towards others,
A big fussy world,
So we need
our way
back
to our self,
To our deeper place
of gathering
and pondering
and renewing–

*Joseph Campbell’s Pathways To Bliss;
**Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run With The Wolves.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Bring it on

Something in us wants to be consistent. But something in us wants to keep growing, and growing often means changing. So these two desires often conflict.*
Brian McLaren

Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they are finished.**
Daniel Gilbert

I have to continue changing
to be consistent,
I have to be consistent
if I am to keep on changing–
Though sixty seven and sometimes
wish it were not so,
I am alive
and I have not done
becoming–

*Brian McLaren’s Faith After Doubt;
**David Brooks’ How To Know A Person.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Beyond distraction

Wisdom is lacking without the human touch.*
Viktor Frankl

You are strong, self-sufficient, you make time for reading, thinking, quiet contemplation, meditation or prayer. This will not cost a penny.**
Tom Hodgkinson

It’s tempting to
turn the TV on,
Doomscroll, or
pour a drink
in much the same way we seek
to distract a bored child,
But wisdom suggests
we care more
and spend a little time
with ourselves.

*Viktor Frankl’s The Will To Meaning;
**Tom Hodgkinson’s Business For Bohemians.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Slow journeys 10

“Interest” comes from the Latin “interesse,” that is “to be in-between.”  If I am interested, I must transcend my ego, to be open to the world, and jump to it: interest is based on activeness.*
Erich Fromm

Every so often,
I’ll be sharing
a portion of the images**
from my colouring book
Slow Journeys in
the Same Direction

You’re welcome
to print these
for colouring in–
Not quite a labyrinth
but they’ll slow you down.


*Erich Fromm’s The Revolution of Hope;
**Each Slow Journeys page is two pages wide.

SOME MORE SLOW JOURNEYS
SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE

Presently lost

I admitted that I was lost. And that was the most liberating thought I ever had.*
Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Myth is the transcendent in relation to the present.**
David Kudler

In a deep unfolding world, certainty
isn’t all it’s cracked up to be –
Lostness, doubts, questions –
These are our guides
into the greater fullness
of here and now and each other,
And then it begins again–

*Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s Tiny Experiments;
**Joseph Campbell’s Pathways To Bliss.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Your abundant story

How does my project seek to shift part of the culture from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset.*
Seth Godin

Imagination is required for the most important and vital quality of life, the generation of enthusiasm. The word ‘enthusiasm’ means to be inspired by the gods, and the gods, Blake reminds us, come from the imagination.**
John Higgs

It’s your other story–
Accessed by owning who you are – humility,
Thankful for what you have – gratitude,
And imagining how to make these available
to others – faithfulness.

*Seth Godin’s This Is Strategy;
**John Higgs’ William Blake Vs The World;
^For
project read story.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Life imperfect

Someone says life is hard.
The comedian says, “Compared to what?”
Comedians are philosophers.*

Derek Sivers

If we accept the will will never be able to do everything perfectly, we may start thinking about innovative ways to work within our limitations.**
Anne-Laure Le Cunff

The first elemental truth
of life being hard^ is also
a limitation the universe
is inviting me to play with–

*Derek Sivers’ How To Live;
**Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s Tiny Experiments;
^Richard Rohr’s Adam’s Return: 5 elemental truths (limitations) – Life is hard, You’re not as special as you think, Your life is not about you, You are not in control, You are going to die.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Doubt I cannot do without

Without a doubt, there can be growth within a stage, but growth from one stage to another usually requires us to doubt the assumptions that give shape to our current stage*
Brian McLaren

I doubt life is simple and easy,
I need to doubt that I am unable to deal with life’s challenges,
I must doubt that life is only hard and ugly,
I will not doubt that life is all of these, and worth believing in.

*Brian McLaren’s Faith After Doubt; the four stages being simplicity, complexity, perplexity, and harmony.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

The word

That moment, it imprinted on my heart.
What a gift she gave me.
Mystic.*

Rob Bell

A personal myth delineates an identity, illuminating the values of an individual life. The personal myth is not a legend or a fairy tale, but a sacred story that embodies personal truth.**
Dan McAdams

So many people
inside each of us,
But one more than others–
Perhaps shaped
or maybe received–
lights a path
into some unknown.

*Rob Bell’s Everything Is Spiritual;
**Dan McAdams’ The Stories We Live By.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO