“The grass does not refuse to
flourish in the spring wind.
The leaves are not angry at
falling through the autumn sky.
Who, with whip or spur.
can quicken the feet of time?
The things of this world
flourish and decay,
each at their own hour.”

Li Bai, 8th century CE, China

“We have flown the air like birds and swim the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.”

Martin Luther King Jr, assassinated on this day in 1968

The Old Wisdom by environmentalist Jane Goodall, born on this day in 1934,

“When the night wind makes the pine trees creak
And the pale clouds glide across the dark sky,
Go out my child, go out and seek
Your soul: The Eternal I.

For all the grasses rustling at your feet
And every flaming star that glitters high
Above you, close up and meet
In you: The Eternal I.

Yes, my child, go out into the world; walk slow
And silent, comprehending all, and by and by
Your soul, the Universe, will know
Itself: the Eternal I.”

“When one becomes worthy to hear the song of plants, how each plant speaks its song to God, how beautiful and sweet it is to hear the singing!
It is good indeed to serve God in the middle of them all, wandering alone over the fields between growing things.
All the speech of the fields then enters into your own and intensifies its strength.
With every breath you drink in the air of paradise, and when you return home the world is renewed in your eyes.”

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, 18th century Ukraine

“Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own – indeed to embrace the whole of creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. Recognizing that sustainable development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come…

In trying to explain this linkage, I was inspired by a traditional African tool that has three legs and a basin to sit on. To me the three legs represent three critical pillars of just and stable societies. The first leg stands for democratic space, where rights are respected, whether they are human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, or environmental rights. The second represents sustainable and equitable management and resources. And the third stands for cultures of peace that are deliberately cultivated within communities and nations. The basin, or seat, represents society and its prospects for development. Unless all three legs are in place, supporting the seat, no society can thrive. Neither can its citizens develop their skills and creativity. When one leg is missing, the seat is unstable; when two legs are missing, it is impossible to keep any state alive; and when no legs are available, the state is as good as a failed state. No development can take place in such a state either. Instead, conflict ensues.”

Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, born on this day in 1940

“One moment I saw a river flowing gently.
The next, all bridges washed away.
One moment I saw a bush flowering.
The next I saw no rose or thorn – just branches.
One moment I saw a cooking fire blazing.
The next just ashes, no fire or smoke.
Pleasures spread like poppies.
You seize the flower, the blossom drops.
We are like snow falling in a river –
a moment white, then melted forever.
I don’t trust what is
being said through me –
not for a moment!
Still I drink the wine of my own words,
then I seize the darkness that arises and
tear it into little pieces.
As the moon wanes,
I find a mad person roaming inside,
longing for the Beloved.
I call out to soothe her pain –
‘It is I, Lalla, … I!’
The Beloved appears, and
all further sensing and doing
disappear.”

Lalla, 14th century CE, Kashmir

From The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year by Caitlin Matthews,

“Birds and other animals begin to choose their mates as the growing year burgeons strongly in the strengthening sunlight. The green fire that runs all over the earth is sparked by this very sunlight and the deep germinating power of the earth. When plants reach toward the sunlight, the red, violet and blue bands of the spectrum activate the chlorophyll pigment within each leaf so that it reflects green…

This green fire is also within us – not in our physical bodies, as it is in plants, but in our emotional and creative lives. Spring fever has many manifestations. The creative urge of spring brings into being much verse, for example, as our emotional upheavals reach out for fresh life and vigour.

Where is the green fire in your own life at this time? Take your emotional and creative temperature; then give yourself over to something pleasurable and enlivening this week.”

Mettika from the Therigatha (Songs of the Nuns), poems composed by early female followers of the Buddha,

“Though I am weak and tired now,
And my youthful step long gone,
Leaning on this staff,
I climb the mountain peak.
My cloak cast off, my bowl overturned,
I sit here on this rock.
And over my spirit blows
The breath
Of liberty.”

Psalm for Body Beginnings by Celeste Snowber,

“Each day the petals
unfold their face to the sky
an act of surrender
open hearted to breathe
for a new day
Await each breath as if it was pristine
your lungs living in the glory of
inhabiting air for the first time
everything is old today
everything is new today
all your issues remain
family, finances, relationships, work details, and
endless domestic disasters
but there is a spring
rising within your torso
you know it by its pulse
the energy where you cry yes
to this tiny alive moment
let the morning birds sing inside your chest
and cultivate body beginnings
new ways for fingers to touch earth
glances for being a lover in the world
finding ease through baby steps
the big deals – the big problems
will be with you
but there is something else arising
a ripe heart – a softened soul
an eternal arm embraces your weariness
and calls you back once again
to body beginnings.”

“Want what you have. Do what you can. Be who you are.”

UU Minister Forrest Church (1948 – 2009)