For Soul & Spirit


Some words and concepts we have found inspirational. May they nourish and restore your spirit and soul, too
Commitment ~ Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative (and creation). There is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now. ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe ~
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. ~ A Prayer Attributed to St Francis ~
Serenity Prayer God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, Wisdom to know the difference Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to your will so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen ~ Reinhold Niebuhr ~	Look to this day, For it is life, The very life of life. In its brief course lie all The realities and verities of existence, The bliss of growth, The splendour of action, The glory of power - For yesterday is but a dream And tomorrow is only a vision, But today, well lived, Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness And every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day. ~ Sanskrit Proverb ~
Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we are estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying : “You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!” If that happens to us we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. but everything is transformed. In that moment, grace conquers sin, and reconciliation bridges the gulf of estrangement. And nothing is demanded of this experience, no religious or moral or intellectual presupposition, nothing but acceptance. ~ Paul Tillich “Shaking the Foundations” ~
Peace be with you

It sometimes happens that
your personality disappears.

Charles Baudelaire

If it is not right, do not do it
If it is not true, do not say it

Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD)

Do all the good you can,
In all the ways you can,
To all the souls you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
With all the zeal you can,
As long as ever you can.

John Wesley, 18th century

Justice = we get what we deserve
Mercy = we don't get what we deserve
Grace = we get what we don't deserve

The happiness of your life depends on
the quality of your thoughts.

Marcus Aurelius

God doesn't require us to succeed;
he only requires that you try.

Mother Teresa

A well-spent day brings happy sleep.

Leonardo da Vinci

Experience: something you get
... just after you needed it.

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