“Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creature. What you are in his sight is what you are and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received, but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.”
St Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226) who received the wounds of Christ (known as stigmata) on this day in 1224, after a vision praying on Mount Verna

“God is not what you think
or even what you believe,
because God is
a word unspoken,
a thought unthought,
a belief unbelieved.
So if you wish to know
this God, practice wonder,
do what is good, and
cultivate silence.
The rest will follow.”
Meister Eckhart

“There is a common misconception that the good things in life come from being in the right place at the right time. In truth, everything that is good comes from being on the right channel with the right reception. This is what the sages call z’chut—sometimes translated as “merit.” What it really means is a kind of fine-tuning of the soul. How do you fine-tune the soul? You have three knobs: What you do, what you say and what you think. Adjust them carefully for static-clean reception.”
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

“Love from its very nature must be transitory. To seek for a secret that would render it constant would be as wild a search as for the philosopher’s stone or the grand panacea: and the discovery would be equally useless, or rather pernicious to mankind. The most holy band of society is friendship.”
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 – 1797), Unitarian feminist and writer, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women, who died on this day.

From War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910), born on this day,

“Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source.”

Psalm 66 Redux by Carla Grosch-Miller,
“The whole earth sings praise!
Wild wind whips glory,
babbling brook skipping sings,
green fields davening sway.
The smallest ears pick up the tune
that pulses through all things.
Oh God, Maker of all,
let my life move with
the earth songs beneath my feet
and the star songs above my head.
Let my heart jig and caper like a young lamb.
Let my soul sing and sigh and signify.
No corner of the earth is apart from Your power.
Everywhere a woman may roam,
she will see the signs and hear the songs:
Each day a new day.
Each moment an opportunity.
Each step.
each listening step,
a step in hope’s direction.
How may I live my gratitude,
but with humble attention,
with an ear quick to listen,
gaze penetrating to see,
a heart ready to love,
hands eager to bless,
with a mind slow to judge
and probing to discern,
with feet that move
in hope’s direction,
dancing earthstar
songs of praise.
So be it.”

“There comes a time when nothing is meaningful except surrendering to love.” Rumi

“Because yesterday was not all it should have been does not matter.
Yesterday is finished and gone and you can do nothing about it.
Today is a completely different matter.
It lies before you untouched and unblemished.
And it is up to you to make it the most wonderful day.

How do you start off each day?
Remember, it is no concern of anyone else.
It is something you, and you alone, have to choose to bring about.
Try to start off the day with inner peace and contentment
by taking time to be still and allowing that peace to infil and enfold you.

Do not rush into the day unprepared and out of harmony.
If you do, it is easy to take that state of mind into the day,
allowing it to affect the whole day and all those souls you contact.
It is up to you to choose what today is going to be and then make it so.
Why not choose now?”

Eileen Caddy (1917 – 2006), one of the founders of the Findhorn community

From Eternal Echoes by John O’Donohue,

“There are no manuals for the construction of the individual you would like to become.
You are the only one who can decide this and take up the lifetime of work that it demands.
This is a wonderful privilege and such an exciting adventure.
To grow into the person that your deepest longing desires is a great blessing.

If you can find a creative harmony between your soul and your life,
you will have found something infinitely precious.
You may not be able to do much about the great problems of the world
or to change the situation you are in, but if you can awaken the eternal
beauty and light of your soul, you will bring light wherever you go.

The gift of life is given to us for ourselves and also to bring peace,
courage, and compassion to others.”

“I once asked God what I could give him. “Your problems,” he said. “I’ve got everything else.”” Rabbi Lionel Blue