Sacred Ruminations: SkyWatch #4 & HF#58

Food for Thought

(or reminders for myself)

Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.
Barbara De Angelis

"Whatever can come to a woman can come to me
Whatever can happen to anyone can happen to me."
Muriel Rukeyser

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."--Mother Teresa

"It is better to ask some questions than to know all the answers." James Thurber

"Forgive yourself for everything you did not know in the past but do now. Don't waste any of your precious energy beating yourself, or anyone else, up. Your power to change your life is in the present, regardless of your past."
Dr. Christiane Northrup

"Your purpose is to heal yourself first in mind and intent. Declare this principle to yourself -- I intend to walk the highest path to my awakening. I am fearless in the face of learning to discipline my mind and actions so they are attuned to my true divinity." Doreen Virtue

"Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in this life has a purpose." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

More thoughts ...

"It requires a direct dispensation from Heaven to become a walker." Henry David Thoreau

"It is no small task to change one's focus from what can go wrong to what can go right and to empower women to shift from destructive behaviors to those that are generally associated with health. I want to awaken that still, small wise, intuitive voice in all of us, that voice of our own body that we have been forced to ignore through our culture's illness, misinformation, and dysfunction. I want to give you the courage to listen to that voice and act on it." Dr. Christiane Northrup

"No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place." Maya Angelou

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. Diane Ackerman

"No one needs to know that you've shut the world out and are meditating as you stroll down the street. Twenty minutes to a half-hour every day is a good amount of time to restore a sense of serenity." Sarah Ban Breathnach

"One of the marks of an intelligent person is to be able to distinguish what is worth doing and what isn't and to be able to set priorities." Anne Wilson Schaef

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love." Sophocles

More thoughts ...

"Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength." Sigmund Freud

"I need to understand the dynamics of effort & success. I will spend my energy on things & and activities that bring me the most fulfillment. I will spend less energy on the "stuff" that ultimately has no meaning to me." Dr. Christiane Northrup

"However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do if you do not act upon them?"
Buddha

"The greatest contribution that you can make is the aliveness that comes from simply being yourself, living your truth, and doing what you love. The passionate expression of who we are will heal the world." Shatki Gawain

"It is in solitude that we discover that being is more important than having and that we are worth more than the result of our efforts. In solitude we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended, but a gift to be shared." Henri H. Nouwen, theologian

"I am ready to supply the earth's needs with my riches. I seize upon my wealth within and give freely as I am replenished." Doreen Virtue

"... perception can be given a new purpose. ... Follow His Light, and see the world as He beholds it. Hear His Voice alone in all that speaks to you. And let him give you peace and certainty which you have thrown away, but Heaven has preserved for you in Him." A Course in Miracles

More thoughts

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." Rumi

"I believe I'm here to speak my truth and that's all I have to do. I don't have to make people understand it... I just have to speak the truth." ~Anne Wilson Schaef

"A woman is like a teabag-only in hot water do you realize how strong she is." Eleanor Roosevelt

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever."
Mahatma Ghandi

"...We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. ... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Nelson Mandela

“Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily. If a person does not invent herself, she will be invented. So, to be bodacious enough to invent ourselves is wise.” - Maya Angelou

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”
Rumi

"A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place, but a seed to be planted and to bear more seeds toward the hope of greening the landscape of idea." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"I have lived long enough to learn how much there is I can really do without.... He is nearest to God who needs the fewest things." Socrates

Welcome to Sacred Ruminations

My first Sky Watch is at Small Reflections.

Thanks to Scylla at Law & Motherhood

for this cool Haiku button

Watching the sun set
sitting on my rooftop deck
stressed from hectic day

reminds me how blessed

we are living on this earth ...
filled with gratitude

I relax and breathe
in the 'stillness' ... releasing
tension from the day.
~ ~ ~

This morning I heard
Randy Pausch is with us no
longer on this earth

yet his legacy
will live long reminding all
how to embrace life!

This morning I've been
listening again to the
lecture link above

reflecting upon
choices past and present while
focusing on now.
1960-2008

"Experience is what you get when you
didn't get what you wanted."

Click for others participating in Sky Watch this week at its new home.
Click for Haiku Friday #59 at Small Reflections.

For others participating in Haiku Friday this week go to A Mommy Story or Playgroups are no Place for Children. (To see my previous Haikus, click on the Haiku Friday label below this post or in the sidebar under About Me where you'll find a 'directory' of my Haikus on both blogs).

Thought for Today
"Now that it's all over, what did you really do yesterday that's worth mentioning?" Coleman Cox

28 comments:

Gattina said...: Wow ! that's a beautiful view to get unstressed !; July 25, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Anonymous said...: i should think that should be relaxing! wonderful view.; July 25, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Lara said...: superb sunsets!; July 25, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Tom said...: Great Sunsets

Please forgive this 'copy & paste part of my comment but I am on my rounds checking all the links but wanted you to know I have seen your post and will try to get back again.
On behalf of all other Sky Watchers the team thank you for taking part this week.

Tom; July 25, 2008 at 10:21 AM
zetor said...: Wonderful sunsets.; July 25, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Beautiful and peaceful view. And a lovely tribute also.; July 25, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Just beautiful! Also so sorry to hear about Randy Pausch.; July 25, 2008 at 1:29 PM
Mom Knows Everything said...: What beautiful pictures! It makes me wish I was there!; July 25, 2008 at 1:44 PM
Virginia said...: thanks for visiting today. You have a very beautiful blog . I loved your photos and haiku today.; July 25, 2008 at 3:13 PM
maryt/theteach said...: Love your Skywatch pix and the accompanying thoughtful poetry. Randy Pausch is a great loss.; July 25, 2008 at 3:17 PM
Barb said...: I am quite saddened to hear that Randy has died. I've listened to lecture several times. I would love to have been his student.; July 25, 2008 at 3:45 PM
Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...: I think I may be one of the only people alive who hasn't heard The Last Lecture yet. I really like your photos, particularly the second one.; July 25, 2008 at 3:54 PM
SandyCarlson said...: You have a spectacular rooftop view. Thanks for the words and images.; July 25, 2008 at 6:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Beautiful, beautiful sky! Have a great weekend...; July 25, 2008 at 6:52 PM
Maude Lynn said...: What an amazing sunset!; July 25, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Joyce said...: I am very sorry to hear of Randy Pausch's death - so young, with young children. I am currently reading his Last Lecture book . . .; July 25, 2008 at 11:47 PM
Anonymous said...: very nice swf pictures. the second one is my favorite.; July 26, 2008 at 4:40 AM
Lynellen said...: I love the combination of SkyWatch and the Haiku! Thats fantastic. The images are beautiful. Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend!

--Lynellen, #241 on this week's SkyWatch
Shop online with me, your Mary Kay Beauty Consultant; July 26, 2008 at 7:08 AM
Kelly said...: Beautiful photos...breath-taking...so relaxing and refreshing!!!; July 26, 2008 at 1:47 PM
Jeannelle said...: Beautiful SkyWatch scenes! I like the looks of your blog....full of great thoughts.; July 26, 2008 at 4:01 PM
chanpheng said...: Beautiful set of photos, haiku and thoughts.

My Sky Watch Friday post is here. Hope you enjoy it.; July 26, 2008 at 8:49 PM
Lilli & Nevada said...: this is a wonderful photo i love it, so much yellows; July 26, 2008 at 9:58 PM
Tina Coruth said...: Storyteller,

Your photos and poetry are beautiful! Thank you for your kind words about my skywatch photo.

I was saddened to learn that Randy Pausch passed away. His legacy is a great gift to us all.

hugs,
Tina; July 27, 2008 at 7:47 AM
Raven said...: Beautiful skywatch photos. Sorry it has taken me so long to get here. This week life has felt sort of like walking through molasses. So it goes. Beautiful photos and good thoughts on Randy Pausch... he truly did use his illness to spread a lot of healing before he died.; July 27, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Karen said...: The view inspires tranquility...and I really love that quote at the end--at least ninety percent of what I act the drama queen over isn't really all that bad...but then, I DO love to act the drama queen...; July 27, 2008 at 3:30 PM
storyteller said...: To all – Thanks for visiting my Sky Watch/Haiku Friday post this week. I enjoyed sharing these sunset photos with you and appreciate each of your comments greatly. Perhaps in the future I’ll find time to remove the electrical wires with Photoshop. Visiting others who participate is always a delight … seeing the sky from all over the world at various times of day is an amazing thing in this ‘virtual world’ indeed! The loss of Randy Pausch was certainly expected, but saddens me each time I think of it. If you’ve not had the opportunity, I do hope you’ll check out his last lecture when time permits. I wish I had time today to respond to each of you separately, but I’ve decided a ‘group response’ is the best I can do for now. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend.
Hugs and blessings,; July 27, 2008 at 6:35 PM
Pat - Arkansas said...: Your photographs for Sky Watch are most beautiful! Thanks for sharing them with us. Thanks, also, for your comments about Randy Pausch; he was a remarkable human being.; July 29, 2008 at 7:44 PM
storyteller said...: Pat (an Arkansas Stamper)
I’m delighted to find your post this afternoon … more than a week after I shared these photos and close to a week after you left it. Sometimes I fall behind, but I usually manage to catch up eventually … and revisiting my post as I savor your words brings a feeling of gratitude this afternoon.
Hugs and blessings,; August 3, 2008 at 4:23 PM