February theme LOVE

2/17/08

Divine One, may we love all of your creation,
all of the earth and every grain of sand in it.
May we love every leaf, every ray of your light.
For we acknowledge to you that all is like an ocean,
all is flowing and blending, and that
to withhold any measure of love from anything in your universe is to withhold that same measure from you.
Doystoyevsky



"We are put on earth for a little spacethat we may learn to bear the beams of love"--William Blake


On the way to God the difficulties
Feel like being ground by a millstone.
Like night coming at noon. like
Lightening through the clouds.
But don’t worry!
What must come, comes.
Face Everything with Love,
As your mind dissolves in God
Lal Ded 13th cen. Kashmir

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'


Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another. We do not discover the secret of our lives merely by study and calculation on our own isolated meditation. The meaning of our life is a secret that has to be revealed to us in love. And if this love is unreal, the secret will not be found, the meaning will never reveal itself, the message will never be decoded. At best we will receive a scrambled message, one that will deceive and confuse us. We will never be fully real until we let ourselves fall in love – either with another human or with God.
Thomas Merton

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6


Love affects more than our thinking and our behavior toward those we love. It transforms our entire life. Genuine love is a personal revolution. Love takes your ideas, your desires, and your actions and welds them together in one experience and one living reality which is a new you. You may prefer to keep this from happening. You may keep your thoughts, desires, and acts in separate compartments if you want: but you will be an artificial and divided person. Our philosophy of life is not something we create all by ourselves out of nothing.
Thomas Merton


When you stand outside my thatched hut,
Could you guess how spacious it is inside?
There is a galaxy of worlds in here.
And space for as much love as I can find.
Ishikawa Jozan 17th cen. Japan


'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.' Noelle - age 7


Blessed are they who givewithout expecting even thanks in return,for they shall be abundantly rewarded.Blessed are they who translateevery good thing they know into action,for ever higher truths shall be revealed unto them.Blessed are they who do God's willwithout asking to see results,for great shall be their recompense.Blessed are they who love and trust their fellow beings,for they shall reach the good in people andreceive a loving response.Blessed are they who have seen reality, for they knowthat not the garment of clay but that which activatesthe garment of clay is real and indestructible.Blessed are they who see the change we call deathas a liberation from the limitation of this earth-life,for they shall rejoice with their loved oneswho make the glorious transition.Blessed are they who after dedicating their livesand thereby receiving a blessing, have the courage and faithto surmount the difficulties of the path ahead,for they shall receive a second blessing.Blessed are they who advance toward the spiritual pathwithout the selfish motive of seeking inner peace,for they shall find it.Blessed are they who instead of trying tobatter down the gates of the kingdom of heavenapproach them humbly and lovingly and purified,for they shall pass right through.

Peace Pilgrim's Beatitudes - Mildred Norman




Through love bitter things taste sweet.
Through love pains become as healing balms.
Through love thorns turn into roses.
Through love vinegar becomes sweet wine.
Through love hard stones turn soft like butter.
Through love soft wax becomes hard iron.
Through love grief has the flavor of joy.
Through love stings are like honey.
Through love lions are harmless as mice.
Through love sickness is health.
Through love the dead come to life.
Through love the king is humble as a slave.

Jalil al-Din Rumi 13th cen. Persia



Light comes through a gap in the curtains:
the promise of morning.
Light comes through the flaws of our lives:
the promise of love.

Modern prayer from Germany