be inspired

Seeing with the eyes of the Master Sculptor

'When a fanatic dealt several damaging blows to
Michelangelo's Pieta, the world was horrified.  It surprised no one
when the world's best artists assembled to refashion the disfigured
masterpiece.'

‘When sculptors arrived in Italy, they didn’t begin
repairing the marred face immediately. Rather they spent months
looking at the Pieta, touching the flowing lines, appreciating the
way each part expressed suffering yet ecstasy. Some spent months
studying a single part such as the hand until finally the sculptors
began to see more and more with the eyes of Michelangelo and to
touch and feel as the master artist would have done. When the
sculptors finally began repairing the face, the strokes belonged
almost as much to Michelangelo as to themselves.’

—Matthew and D Linn from Healing of Memories

I read an article called ‘A Sacred Journey’ by Reverend Debbie Shields.

She talks about the book On Retreat with Thomas Merton by Basil Pennington.

She quotes, “First we must detach ourselves from things so that we can truly see them. When we do, we see God in them. Then we can begin the quest for God, leaving things behind, going into the darkness. When we find God, we find all things again in Him-the hundredfold. But, we have a job of letting go of things - especially of our own creations: our thoughts and images. We try to get God to fit within them. But any god who will fit into our thoughts and images will never satisfy our hearts. He is a false god, an idol that we have created. We have to have the courage to go beyond our thoughts and images where, at first, it is very dark… This is the initial experience in Centering Prayer: darkness—until the inner eye of the heart opens and adapts to the too brilliant light that is God. This eye is the penetrating eye of love. When it opens the heart is filled.”

She writes of taking a time of soul searching and honest reflection of our lives and allowing spiritual growth to take place that then prompts our working to make a difference in our personal lives, in our communities,and in our world.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
- Margaret Mead
(43T quote)

I love this site!!!

I want to read Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. I remembered that I want to read this book when I read a magazine article that talked about his being a prisoner and that by sharing his food with someone who was having a rougher time than him he was able to survive. Article talks about reframing the question from “Why is this happening to me?” to “What is life asking of me?”

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds… and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
- Patanjali, physician and “founder” of yoga

“Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.”
- Archimedes

That reminds me of one of my favorite verses in the Bible about Noah’s Dove.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear,
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past,
you can’t go on well in life until you let go of your past failures
and heartaches. —author unknown

exploring letting go and letting go of people who will not let me grow and change

From the book The Sacred Romance by Curtis and Eldredge

Thirsty hearts are those whose longings have been wakened by the touch of God within them. —A.W. Tozer

“In the end it doesn’t matter how well we have performed or what we have accomplished—a life without heart is not worth living. For out of this wellspring of our soul flows all true caring and all meaningful work, all real worship and all sacrifice. Our faith, hope, and love issue from this fount, as well. Because it is in our heart that we first hear the voice of God and it is in the heart that we come to know him and learn to live in his love.”

The King calls his men to something that trancends safety and common sense. He calls them to battle and suffering that will bring them all a glorious remembering in the hearts of men. His words rouse something that burns within their hearts; something set there for the purposes of a king.

The battles God calls us to, the woundings and cripplings of soul and body we all receive, cannot simply be ascribed to our sin and foolishness, or even the sin and foolishness of others. It happens so that the work of God might be displayed through this life.

listen to your life

Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not. —George Sheehan

Quotes from The Complete Runner’s Day by Day Log and Calander by Marty Jerome

work out more efficiently without pain

your goals and abilities will change over time – accommodate them

create a workout regimen where pleasure and progress collide

the solitude of your workout is sacred

seek out those who do it better and learn from them… they will show you new ways to live

Training is a place where hope and determination matter more than reason. We need those places.

Training offers solace, the bitter remedy for any runner stinging from defeat.

When you reach a goal that simply can’t be reached despite the greatest focus and devotion that you have…keep going…train…you will learn more from the failure than from your victory…the only goal that matters is the next one…the next time you fail at a goal, bawl your eyes out, then rededicate yourself to the next goal with ever greater faith…