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Saturday, April 16, 2016

What is Love ?




This morning I woke up with a simple thought about the age old question, "What is love?"  How do we understand  this "thing" called love?  It is not something you can hold onto or describe briefly. It is such an amazing feeling beyond any expression. One can easily and freely have access to love when  our hearts are open to a greater purpose than ourselves. 



I know we all have much to do in our day-to-day lives with challenges that may confound us. I find it is easy to be distracted from this simple expression of love.  So often, I try to remind myself of the things that reflect love for me: sharing with family, saying hello to a friend, reaching out to a neighbor, smiling, singing, gardening, the list goes on and on.  


I also remind myself of one of my favorite verses from the Bible, in 1 Corinthians: 13, that many will recognize  for it is often recited at weddings.  " Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It does not anger easily..." and as the verse goes on, I am reminded that this gift of love, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...as love is the greatest gift.






As I finished writing these thoughts this morning, I turned to look out the window and  was drawn into the early rising sun dancing across the garden.  I decided to take a break from writing to visit the garden. As I began to walk through the garden, I found myself captured by the beauty of the early morning sunlight, giving me such a warm sense of peace and comfort.   This feeling is a little hard to express-- maybe no differently than how one contemplates describing the essence of love.  

This morning, I found myself maybe one step closer to a better understanding of this age old question, "What is love?" Love is in all of us and is all around us, if we choose to open our hearts more to a greater calling.




Saturday, April 9, 2016

Grow Your Creative Heart






On a recent trip to the East Coast,  I spent a wonderful afternoon teaching a class on the joy of creating art from the many inspirational treasures of the spring season.





 Like several of the members in my class, I found myself  taking in the gifted moments of the soft sunlight dancing across the yard creating a glorious blanket of light and a sense of peace after a long gray winter.




During the class time, some of us spoke about how this gentle spring day took us back to memories from some of our earlier years of life, running through the great outdoors and discovering the treasures of this season. 


And though we may not always have the time to wander through the fond memories of our childhood days, I was reminded once again, to take time and enjoy the gifted treasures of today as we prepare for tomorrow.

Oh, how great it is, to just breathe in the fresh air and sit for a moment of time and take in the inspirations of the spring season to grow one's creative heart.