“”Abstinence sows sand all over
The ruddy limbs and flaming hair,
But desire gratified
Plants fruits of life and beauty there.”
William Blake, Abstinence

Abstaining or fasting from the things that we enjoy is not in itself a bad thing; indeed, it can restimulate our appreciation and give us a better balance in the way we use life’s resources. When desires become bullies that have to be pacified, when our freedom is in thrall to those desires, we may well need to employ abstinence to bring ourselves back to normal.

Yet desires submerged or imprisoned can bring us to equally unbalanced regions. If we never allow the fulfilment of our desires, we doom ourselves to perpetual dissatisfaction, to lives that are neither enhanced not enchanted with delight. It may be that we learned such abstinence in times of hardship, difficulty, or illness and are still living under the sway of impossibility. It may be that we were injured by rejection of lack of love – an experience that often consigns all forms of fulfilment to a foreign territory. Let us also recognise, however, that the subtle forms of abstinence that we all practice may spring from laziness or from fear of loss of control as much as from any other cause.

Enjoyment, pleasure, and the satisfaction of our desires are legitimate human duties, as long as they harm no other being. The pursuit of our desires can lead us deeper into life and toward the fulfilment of our life’s purpose.

Today, really enjoy doing something you love but have not done for a long time.”

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

“Life doesn’t always get better.
But you do.
You get stronger.
You get wiser.
You get softer.
With tattered wings you rise.
And the world watches in wonder
at the breathless beauty of
a human who survived life.”

L.R. Knost

Image by Carlos Tamayo

“In our own sense of the Highest and Holiest, let us now in silence face our own shortcomings and failures, and those we find in others; looking first into our own depths and then at the life around us, facing honestly the inevitable imperfection of being human…

Let us now, in some awareness of weakness or sin or failure, in ourselves and in others, recognise our need to forgive and to be forgiven; in silence of heart and mind forgive ourselves and others who need our forgiveness; and be open to receive forgiveness human and divine…

O Holy One, we need your presence in and around us, to know ourselves in both weakness and strength, to find forgiveness for ourselves, to renew our faith and love, to live better lives in ourselves and among others.”

Bruce Findlow, Unitarian minister and Principal of Manchester College Oxford 1974-1985, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“Does the caterpillar know what’s about to happen when it spins a cocoon?
Does it realize that it’s doing more than simply seeking safety?
Does it understand that it’s involved in something greater than simply acting on instinct?
Does it imagine, within its long-sought rest, the beauty to which it will open itself? Does it glimpse the possibility that it may continue its life in a dramatically different fashion than anything it has experience up to this time?
Does it have any idea that it’s about to transform?
Do you?”

From Earth Bound: Daily Meditations For All Seasons by Brian Nelson

“O friend, Who could be so lucky?
Who comes to a lake for water
And sees the reflection of the moon?
Who, like Jacob blind with grief and age,
smells the shirt of his lost son
and can see again?
Who parched with thirst,
Lowers a bucket into a well
And comes up with an Ocean of nectar?
Who could be so lucky?
Or like Moses goes for fire
and finds what burns inside the sunrise?
Jesus slips into a house to escape enemies,
And discovers a passage to the other world.
Soloman cuts open a fish, and there’s a gold ring.
Who could be so lucky?
An oyster opens his mouth for a drop of water,
And discovers a shinning pearl within himself
Who could be so lucky?
But, O friend,
don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others.
Unfold Your Own Myth!”

Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī

“Let us be still and listen for all the sounds around us…
The noise of passing traffic, the steps of passers-by; a distant train or a barking dog; an aeroplane overhead…
The wind in the leaves, the rattle of branches; the singing of birds, the patter of rain; the rustle of autumn leaves or the quiet of winter snow…
The creak of a chair, the tick of a clock, the sound of our own breathing, the beating of our own hearts.
Let us listen to the sounds within us, sounds known only to ourselves…
The unspoken noise of our own tumbling thoughts,
the silent shouting of our own feelings…
The cascading pictures in our own minds’ eyes – all disturbing our quiet. Let us be still within.
Let us listen to a stillness deeper within us. Let us listen to the voice of inner silence.
Let us be still and know that God is here.”

Sydney H. Knight (1923 – 2004), Unitarian minister and hymn writer, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“Make space for having a moment. Go outside and find the magical places. The hidden parts of the garden, the woods and the streams. Even if you’re in the city you can always find the wild. Back-alleys can be great places for that! As for ceremonies, they can be as simple as lighting a candle and giving thanks for the elements. I like to start with earth, to bring us out of our heads and ground; to send our roots down. It doesn’t have to be a big, grand thing. I’m not one for pomp and formality! It just is – we give thanks, our hearts open in gratitude, and we’re in a different place. A more loving place!”

Glennie Kindred

International Youth Day

“When you took the time to recognize
what I was doing well,
you were measuring water into the mouth
of a desert-parched little girl.

Now I carry a pitcher,
treasured legacy in my hand. I offer
witness: a voice to say, “I see you.”
affirm, “What you can do matters.”
argue, “You have something good to share.”

Thank you for those flowers planted,
for my sacred mandate to scatter seeds
into every crack in the concrete;
into every unclenched, opening hand.”

Teacher to Teacher to Teacher by Atena O. Danner

“One of the best preparations for the future is to pay attention to the present moment. Not by being provident, cautious, and miserly with life’s experiential wealth, but by attending to the unfolding of today’s events and one’s part within them.

For those who have places to go and tasks to accomplish, the active use of the imagination to shape their destiny should never be despised. There is no such thing as a “destined future” – one that is fixed and immovable – since every step we take toward the future, every action and intention, changes the dance of our life to some degree. By imagining our future in an active way, we become more sensitive to the influences and interests around us. This active imagining also helps break down our romantic or false expectations and sets up pathways of practice toward our life’s purpose, as we grow ever more sensitive to the unfolding patterns. Furthermore, it helps sustain us when achievement seems far off or unendingly delayed.

The work of shaping the future consists not in the ruthless excision of everything and everyone standing in our way, but in the gentle retuning of ourselves and our abilities to the pitch of our innate life’s purpose. This is a daily, intentional shaping whereby we become attuned to the song that is always singing us.”

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

“Matter and Spirit: These were no longer two things, but two states or two aspects of one and the same cosmic Stuff.. Matter is the Matrix of Spirit. Spirit is the higher state of Matter.”

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881 – 1955), Jesuit priest, paleontologist and theologian, quoted in Christian Mystics by Matthew Fox

Image: The Emergence of Spirit and Matter from the Shiva Purana, Marwar, 1828