FAITH

MINI RETREAT

“Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.” — William Golding

“The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it” Voltaire

“The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.” — John Ruskin

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. — Albert Einstein

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh," he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you.”

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard. — Sloan

“Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. The airplane simply carries a man on its back like an obedient Pegasus; it gives him no wings of his own.” — Louis J. Helle, Jr., Spring in Washington

Goh Chok Tong: “As people grow up and they want more freedom, it's on an individual basis, children want to have more freedom, you've got to allow that, so how do you balance it. I would say let it evolve, move as quickly or slowly as people would like to move.”

Did you hear that winter’s over?
The basil and the carnations cannot control their laughter.
The nightingale, back from his wandering,
has been made singing master over the birds.
The trees reach out their congratulations.
The soul goes dancing through the king’s doorway.
Anemones blush because they have seen the rose naked.
Spring, the only fair judge, walks in the courtroom,
and several December thieves steal away,
Last year’s miracles will soon be forgotten.
New creatures whirl in from non-existence, galaxies scattered around their feet.
Have you met them?
Do you hear the bud of Jesus crooning in the cradle?
A single narcissus flower has been appointed Inspector of Kingdoms.
A feast is set.
Listen: the wind is pouring wine!
Love used to hide inside images: no more!
The orchard hangs out its lanterns.
The dead come stumbling by in shrouds.
Nothing can stay bound or be imprisoned.
You say,
“End this poem here, and wait for what’s next.”
I will.
Poems are rough notations for the music we are.

“Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” — Henry Ward Beecher

“Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.” — George Arliss

the condition or quality of being humble. A noun form of the adjective "humble"; also "humbleness". [ < Old French, < Latin humilis (lowly, low to the ground), < humus (ground, dirt)] Humble: characterized by modesty in behavior, spirit, or attitude; showing deference or reverence… In most religious and self-help contexts, it means having a sense of perspective about oneself and one's real value instead of a perceived, fantasy, or promotion-based value. The word-field of this side of 'humble' includes… modest, modesty, well-grounded, unpretentious, restrained, unassuming. The Greek word in Colossians 3:12 is tapeinophrosune, a compound word (tapein (low to the ground) + phren (gut, diaphragm; the mind was thought to be located there)

 “dBe humble, for the worst thing in the world is of the same stuff as you; be confident, for the stars are of the same stuff as you.” — Nicholal Velimirovic

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. — Max Ehrmann, author of Desiderata

Most often we gobble and we gulp. We do this with our yoga practice; barely finishing a pose before our minds jump to the next is much like not chewing your food before you swallow. Cutting off our breath before our inhale or exhale are actually complete… In order to digest our yoga, we need to savor everything about our experience – just like when we eat, we need to clearly see our smell it, taste it, and delight in it, in order for digestion to happen.

“Joy is a great purifier. It burns away many polluted currents trying to reach us.”– Torkom Saraydarian.

“We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.” – Maya Angelo.

“True joy is that which gives us more energy and makes us feel more alive.” – Robert Puryear

“…One answer is in simplification of life, in cutting out some of the distractions.  But how? Total retirement is not possible.  I cannot shed my responsibilities.   I cannot permanently inhabit a desert island.  I cannot be a nun in the midst of family life.  I would not want to be… I must find a balance somewhere, or an alternating rhythm between these two extremes; a swinging of the pendulum between solitude and communion, between retreat and return.  In my periods of retreat, perhaps I can learn something to carry back to my worldly life.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in Gift from the Sea

One kind word can warm three winter months. – Japanese proverb

“There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally of course, there are times that are cold, and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.” – Chogyam Trungpa

“Real optimism is aware of problems, but recognizes the solutions. Knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome.  Sees the negatives but accentuates the positives, is exposed to the worst but expects the best, has reason to complain but chooses to smile.” – William A Ward.

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses” – Ziggy.

 “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” – Anne Bradstreet.

"If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change.  If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change."

“Go in there, be clear about what you don’t know, and let yourself be taught in the doing of it.”

“We all need sometime to ourselves. Just a few minutes a day to get reacquainted with the one who’s been there since the beginning.”

“Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your thought unguarded” — The Buddha

“The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love Born out of concern for all beings.” — The Buddha

Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Bring the Earth your love and happiness.
The Earth will be safe When we feel safe in ourselves.
— Thich Nhat Hanh