“God is not so much a being
as the word we use when confronted
with the totality of all being,
the unimaginable ultimacy of the universe,
and the mystery of love
at work in the human heart.”

Cliff Reed, retired Unitarian minister, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“The felling of trees and the destruction of wild green places is always a sorrow. When green life is cleared for housing or landfill sites, we feel strong resentment. Human beings have been clearing the earth for agriculture and habitation from early times. Desertification began to replace habitation long ago.

It is easy to wax sentimental about the loss of particular trees and green places, but the war on the green world is now a world issue, as tree cover shrinks from year to year. It is not primarily our own human survival that is at issue, but that of the many species that rely upon the green world for their livelihood and habitat and the complex food chains that stem from the plants and the soil. For humans and their fellow creatures, it is a question of whether our descendants will have sufficient vegetation to sustain the continuance of life.”

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

“More sports teams are named after animals than anything else. The panther, the manta ray, and the shark lend their symbolic power to the teams; even the oriole, the blue jay, and the gopher conjure a regional pride that helps a team win for its hometown. These animals are totems.

Many people identify with a particular animal, but adopting a totem animal is different. Your totem animal is a creature whose grace, power, or mystery gives you the ability to keep going. There’s no need to trudge through this world with only your own strength. Try connecting, even if only through the power of imagination, to the qualities of an animal you call sacred.”

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

“We pray for a keener delight in the world around us.
Delight in its loveliness, its colours, its scents and sounds.
Delight in the fascinating structure of nature and of the human form.
Delight in the saga of the past, in story, song and movement, in art and science, and in good work well done.
Delight in the present moment in all its richness.”

Frank Walker, retired Unitarian minister, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation.”

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941), Bengali polymath, born on this day

“Sometimes entering the sacred grove
is easy as closing the eyes while you sit
in a chair at home and let someone
lead you there, their voice a path you follow
to a ring of trees with roots entwined.
A sun-bright meadow in the middle.
A group of other willing hearts
who form a circle with you. How did it
ever feel far away when the sacred grove
is as close as breath, close as imagination,
real as an openness to wonder. I was there,
just this morning, my hands flat on the earth,
sky reaching in through my crown. I was there,
even as I sat in my office chair, I was there.
My hands held the hands of strangers
beside me. Alone in my room, I was there.
And after knowing the sacred grove breath-close,
all day I find it everywhere.”

In the Sacred Grove by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Image: Sacred Grove (1882) by Arnold Böcklin

“I always have a comfortable feeling that nothing is impossible if one applies a certain amount of energy in the right direction.”

From Around the World in 72 Days by Nellie Bly, journalist and adventurer (1865 – 1922), born on this day

“They say love is the best investment; the more you give, the more you get in return.”

Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993), born on this day

“There is only one page left to write on. I will fill it with words of only one syllable. I love. I have loved. I will love.”

From I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1896 – 1990), born on this day

“I prayed for change, so I changed my mind.
I prayed for guidance and learned to trust myself.
I prayed for happiness and realized I am not my ego.
I prayed for peace and learned to accept others unconditionally.
I prayed for abundance and realized my doubt kept it out.
I prayed for wealth and realized it is my health.
I prayed for a miracle and realized I am the miracle.
I prayed for a soul mate and realized I am the One.
I prayed for love and realized it’s always knocking, but I have to allow it in.”

Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207 – 1273)