“I have been in Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and sword in my hands.”
– Zora Neal Hurston
Category: Quote of the Day
Hear the silent teachings of the wind
Open beyond your knowing to the awareness that all things are one and interconnected. Slow down. Listen to the stars and soil; hear the silent teachings of the wind and the wisdom of fire. The microcosm of each of your cells is a direct link to the macrocosm of the entire Universe. Get still and let the Universe blossom within you. – HeatherAsh Amara from Warrior Goddess Training
You will be lost and unlost
you will be lost and unlost. over and over again.
relax love, you were meant to be this glorious. epic. story.
— Nayyirah Waheed
Kindness is like snow.
It’s another snowy day in Montana…
Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers.
-Kahlil Gabran
Allow me to bestow this revelation upon you…
#metoo will transform our world. Keep watching, listening, sharing and supporting. Nurture this baby with all your might.
When the underdog becomes the conductor.
Our terrible habit of sweeping inappropriateness by powerful men under the rug is being called out. I have my fingers and toes crossed that when the dust settles, we’ll find ourselves surrounded by brilliant men and women who respect one another regardless of their rank or connections.
Here are some brilliant recommendations…
Who Should Replace All the Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct? These Women
@NellSco posted a powerful, thought-provoking tweet
How sexual harassment affects even those who aren’t touched. This is so key. pic.twitter.com/WHxwI8gtJm
— Nell Scovell (@NellSco) November 22, 2017
and the brilliant @JessicaValenti highlighted the positive impact that #metoo continues to contribute to our future:
Let’s be thankful for all the women speaking out about abuse
And for some musical inspiration, Ann Powers of NPR created this list:
Recycled Affirmations for the New Year
The holiday season is upon us. The time to celebrate with family, friends, loved ones and strangers. May the final weeks of 2017 be beautiful and joyous.
It is also the time to order Recycled Affirmations for 2018. Whether for yourself or a friend, give the gift of daily reminders that life is beautiful, precious and full of inspiration.
Again, and again, and forever again.
Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again.
Chinese Inscription Cited by Thoreau in Walden
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Life did not begin at my birth
I am fond of this quote, in particular, because it is always a humbling reminder that I am not the center of the Universe.
“There is divine beauty in learning. To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth. Others have been here before me. And I walk in their footsteps. The books I have read were composed by generations of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers, and disciples. I am the sum total of their experiences. And so are you.” – Elie Wiesel
Eliezer “Elie” Wiesel KBE was a Romanian-born American Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. Gary Henry pays great tribute to Wiesel in Story and Silence: Transcendence in the Work of Elie Wiesel.
Conversation reflects what’s on the mind. People do our jobs for us – they reveal themselves, if only we would listen. The problem is, we rarely listen carefully enough. – Noah Lukeman from The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life
I happened upon this quote in the context of learning how to be a better writer. But it struck me so strongly, I ended up plunging down a rabbit hole full of questions revolving around being a better listener.
I have a friend who talks. A lot. He has an incredible memory and his mind is like a set of encyclopedias running a marathon. Unfortunately, if someone is speaking to me, especially at breakneck speed in order to get everything out before he loses my attention or has to take a breath, he’s actually wasting his breath. My mind can only remember what someone else says for a few seconds, not necessarily in the correct order and I’m attempting to interpret and categorize as I go. And although I may be using ‘I’ while making these statements, I really mean WE.
According to Sharon Drew Morgen,
our brains arbitrarily delete or redefine anything our Communication Partners (CPs) say that might be uncomfortable or atypical. Unfortunately, we then believe that what we think we’ve heard – a subjective translation of what’s been said – is actually what was said or meant. It’s usually some degree of inaccurate. And it’s not our fault. Our brains do it to us.
What if we just started by intentionally recognizing everyone with whom we’re speaking as a Communication Partner? And then move forward with the recognition of our CP as a goldmine of knowledge, experience, biases, “assumptions, triggers, habituated neural pathways, and memory channels that sift out what’s being said”? 
Stay tuned…I haven’t even gotten to the part about listening to the voiceless yet.
Recycled Affirmations 