“Freedom is never a reaction. To be stuck in reaction is bondage, bondage to the one against whom we re-act. Freedom is observing our reactions. In that seeing, reaction dissolves. Then we can act from stillness, the silence of the Seer. Stillness is a lightning bolt. Silence is a diamond with ten thousand eyes. Why not act like a mountain floating on a sea of blossoms?”

Fred Lamotte

“A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in,
A minute to smile and an hour to weep in,
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble,
And never a laugh but the moans come double;
And that is life!

A crust and a corner that love makes precious,
With a smile to warm and the tears to refresh us;
And joy seems sweeter when cares come after,
And a moan is the finest of foils for laughter;
And that is life!”

Paul Laurence Dunbar, born on this day in 1872

Anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in 1945

“Let us teach that the honour of a nation consists not in the forced submission of other states, but in equal laws and free institutions, in cultivated fields and prosperous cities; in the development of intellectual and moral power, in the diffusion of knowledge, in magnanimity and justice, the virtues and blessings of peace.”

William Ellery Channing (1780 – 1842), Unitarian minister and theologian

Healing Begins at Home by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman,

“There’s a story about a man who was lowered down a deep shaft, lower and lower, until the darkness was so dark he could touch it with his fingers, the damp cold so damp and cold it seeped through his bones and made them shiver.
Finally, without warning, he hit the hard rock bottom.
When they pulled him back up, they asked, “So what did you find down there?”
“It was cold,” he answered.
“What else?”
“It was dark,” he answered.
“What else?”
“What else do you want?” he answered. “I hit rock bottom and it was cold, dark and full of dirt!”
“We know it’s full of dirt!” they retorted. “It’s a mine! Now, where are the diamonds?”
If you have read about Tikkun (rectification), you may have already figured out the story. It’s about us, about how our souls come down to a fractured, light-deprived world.
If you don’t know why you’re here, sometimes all you can see is dirt. And there’s no shortage of dirt in this world.
But if you know you’re here on a mission, the supreme mission to rescue the lost divine sparks and repair the universe, and if you know that the most brilliant, precious stones are to be found in the darkest, deepest places—then the dirt becomes almost irrelevant. All you see are diamonds.
The first place to look for those diamonds is in your own home. Then in your community.
Once you can find them there, you’ll see diamonds everywhere.”

Midsummer Song by Caitlin Matthews,

“Dark is the night, far is the dawning,
Sing for the shining of light on the way.
Hearken, be ready, attend to my calling:
Sing all you guardians who wait at the door.

Sing, sing, sing for the dawning,
Sing for the midnight, the noon and the day
Sing, sing, sing for the morning
Sing for the dawning of this glorious day.

Some say that wisdom is born of believing,
Sing for the shining of light on the way.
Some say that wisdom is born is deceiving,
But wisdom shines bright in the night or the day.

Stones they were standing when starlight was breaking,
Sing for the shining of light on the way.
The seas and rivers attend to their courses
When sunlight and moonlight upon them do play.

The old times returning, the new times restoring,
Sing for the shining of light on the way.
From the beginning the old ones are singing.
The song of the making that welcomes this day.”

“Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.”

Alan Turing, born on this day in 1912

Summer Solstice by Tom Hirons,

“In a graveyard in June,
The sun arcs high over
All the withered trees.
Light pours onto the tombstones.
Despite the terrible news,
The skylarks and the blackbirds sing,
Relentless as the turn of time.
I lift my face to the bright horizon.
I have heard the death-groans of
A thousand of my dreams,
But the life-song of the unknown
Still rings loud in my ears.
Here, in love beyond the odds,
Is where I’ve made my home.
I’ll sing and dance all Summer,
In hopeless hope among the flowers,
Beyond optimism and despair.
I don’t have a choice:
I’ll make love with this world
Whether it is blooming ever outwards
Or withering towards its tomb.”

From Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews,

“Glory to the Day-Star, hail!
Lifter of the Light, Burnisher of the Sky.
Gifts of love to earth are bringing,
Summer’s shimmer, dew’s delight.
Dancing be the heart within us,
Open be our souls to bliss,
Courage vanquish every shadow,
Greet midsummer with a kiss.”

“Dear you,
if you don’t like the way that you look it’s probably because you have chosen the wrong mirror to look at yourself in
stop using other people as a mirror to see your reflection in – especially if that other person is an asshole
assholes make the worst mirrors
they only want to reflect your blemishes
and your weaknesses
and your fault lines
and your sins
don’t blame them for making you feel bad.
you are the one looking for them to tell you how you look
of course, they will tell you that you’re ugly
of course, they will say you aren’t enough
they are assholes – what did you expect?
while we are at it…
stop using your bank account as a mirror
it’s a liar
it doesn’t really show you who you really are
neither does your car
or your grades
or your awards
or your Instagram
or your past mistakes
or your diagnosis
or your late bills
or your failures
none of those things make very good mirrors
If you want to know how you actually look I suggest that you hold a baby for a bit.
Pay attention to how a baby will look at you.
To a baby you are a garden of a million wildflowers.
You are a giant.
You are an ancient warrior protecting them from monsters and uncomfortable rashes.
You fill up their sky like a brilliant supernova.
To a baby laying in your arms, you are both the cradle and the lullaby.
A baby will gaze at you with wide eyes and an uncontrollable smile because they have just come from heaven and they know divinely crafted beauty when they see it.
They see the miracle in you. They see the miracle in you. They see the miracle in you.
Babies make the best mirrors.
Look at yourself the way a baby looks at you.
For too long you have let dirty and broken shards of glass tell you who you are.
Their reflection is corrupt – stop trusting them.
Let the innocent show you who you are.
They see your light.
They see you for who you are:
Capable
Strong
Beautiful
Burning
Blooming
Becoming
in the time you have left
be kind to yourself
and choose what reflections you believe with the utmost care.
See you in September,
you’re going to make it
to see the leaves change
I swear it
love,
your soul.”

John Roedel

“My soul suddenly became recollected, and it seemed to me to be like a brightly polished mirror, without any part that was not totally clear. In its centre, Christ our Lord was shown to me. It seemed to me I saw him clearly in every part of my soul, as though in a mirror. And this mirror also – I don’t know how to explain it – was completely engraved upon the Lord himself by means of a very loving communication… I think this vision is advantageous to recollected persons, in teaching them to consider the Lord as very deep within their souls… Within oneself, very clearly, is the best place to look. It’s not necessary to go to heaven, nor any further than our own selves.”

Teresa of Avila