Ecstatic Friday, 30 October 2015

It is very rare that I awake on Friday without some inspiration to post. This morning, however, I had nothing. No insight. No quote. Nada. Zip. No amount of searching or prayer brought forth anything but silence.

Then, I turned to the silence and said, "What am I missing?" And, with loud, thundering clarity it came: gratitude.

And, close on its heels came this quote from Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chief: "When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light. Give thanks for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. And if perchance you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured the fault is in yourself.”

Well played, Universe, well played.

Ecstatic Friday, February 20, 2015

Ecstatic Friday and I am feeling drawn to something read long ago in The Art of Racing in the Rain. Enzo, the dog, says: "Here's why I will be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot talk, so I listen very well. I never deflect the course of the conversation with a comment of my own. People, if you pay attention to them, change the direction of one another's conversations constantly... Learn to listen! I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories.” So, my day will be spent listening. Please, tell me your story.

Ecstatic Friday, February 13, 2015

I proclaimed 2015 the year of removing what doesn't belong to reveal the masterpiece beneath (à la Michelangelo.) Two months into it, here's what I know: chipping away and discarding is heavy, discouraging, confusing work. Masterpieces do not reveal themselves quickly. So, for this Ecstatic Friday, I'm clinging to Anne Morrow Lindbergh's wisdom: “Every step, even a tentative one, counts.” So, if you find yourself in your own winter slog, take heart... spring will come and there will be cherry blossoms, daffodils and the magic of bumblebees. Already the days are longer and the sun is brighter. Every step counts. And, that's the truth.

Ecstatic Friday, January 30, 2015

Before opening my eyes this Ecstatic Fri morn, two things crossed my mind. One was Johnny Cash singing the old hymn "In the Garden" and the other words from Franz Kafka: "You need not do anything. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, just wait. You need not even wait, just learn to be quiet, still and solitary. And the world will freely offer itself to you unmasked. It has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet." What divine paradox! If you want the world to unfurl its mysteries, be still. It's that simple. Namaste.

Ecstatic Friday, January 23, 2015

Happy Ecstatic Friday! I've been thinking this week about the company we keep. Why do so many of us surround ourselves with the petty, the jealous, the small-minded? Take some advice from Mark Twain: "Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great, make you feel that you too can become great." And, then, we must heed Daniel Burman, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's souls." So, what are we waiting for? Let's go be great!

Ecstatic Friday, January 16 2015

The first Ecstatic Friday appearance for Hafiz in 2015: "You carry all the ingredients to turn your existence into joy, mix them, mix them!" Don't you just love that? Joy -- that life affirming, everlasting happiness which bubbles deep inside --- only requires you mixing-up what you already have right now. What are you waiting for? And, that's the truth!