This is a favorite poem of my mother's, and I love to hear her recite it:
Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.
In the Martin Scorsese movie, Hugo, the young orphan's friend, Isabelle, sincerely wonders aloud about her purpose in life as they look out at a beautiful night-time scene of Paris from their hiding place in a clock tower.
Regardless of our age, most of us ask ourselves the same question, "I wonder what my purpose is...". The response of Hugo, the orphan, is lovely:
Isabelle: I wonder what my purpose is...
Hugo Cabret: Everything has a purpose, clocks tell you the time, trains takes you to places.
"I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need.
"So I figured if the entire world was one big machine... I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too."
I think God, our Heavenly Father, has a purpose for each of us. That's why we are here on earth, to discover our own value and worth, to help other's discover their own as well. What greater worth can we feel than to understand ~ to really "get it" ~ that we are God's children?
I believe we are destined to return to be with our Father in Heaven again, and our purpose is to bring others with us on that journey back to live with Him again. We are His children and he loves us. His love is perfect and extends over the face of the earth to every one who has, or ever will live.
If we feel like an extra, unneccessary part, if we wonder what our purpose is, the easiest way to find out what our purpose is is to ask God, "Why am I here?", "Where did I come from?", and "Where will I go after this life?" If the answer you receive to the last question is, "someplace really good", like to live with your Father in Heaven again, you may ask, "Then, how do I get there?" Keep asking the questions. You will get answers.
Jesus Christ was made in His father's image. Christ was a perfect listener and a perfect conversationalist. He was perfect in everything he did. If Christ was those things, then God, our Heavenly Father is also a perfect listener and a perfect conversationalist. He will listen to your questions if you ask, and he will answer your questions if you wait for His response.
If you have these questions and want to talk to other like-minded people, there are people serving all over the world specifically to answer those exact questions. Click here if you want to talk with someone who can kindly and patiently help answer some of your questions.
[Movie based on the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. Screenplay by John Logan.]
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life.
Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope.”
Oh, to feel close to a person. Oh, to feel understood. What are you doing to nurture a friendship? I wish it were always easy, but it takes some effort on our part. If you are feeling unwell, that effort can feel overwhelming. How about praying to know who to call on the phone? There may be someone in your neighborhood who you will discover has a lot in common with you. You may meet them in a waiting room at the doctors office. Pray for courage to make a new friend. Pray for someone to be inspired to reach out to you.
Feeling alone is a terrible feeling. Feeling close to someone that understands you is a validating, beautiful feeling (for them too). If you haven't found 'just the right friend', keep looking and praying. If you have 'just the right friend', keep nurturing that friendship.
Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
~Khalil Gibran
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!"
There is a German idiom, Kopf hoch, auch wenn Ihr Hals schmutzig werden kann, which means, head up even though your neck may be dirty.
My dear friend Trudy shared it with me in a letter when I was struggling with health issues. She also wrote, "It means keep going although life throws you a curve every so often...God is good, he hears prayers and blesses us accordingly. Every day is a blessing from our Heavenly Father and we have to make the best of it when we can and he will help [us] to do just that. Cheers cheers cheers for all that's good in...life."
I wish everyone could have a "Trudy" in their life.
[Photo by Dorthea Lang, "Migrant Mother", [Library of Congress]. It is one of the most famous images to come from the Dust Bowl era in the United States. Walker Evans, another famous photographer, also captured many images from this era]
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession.
~ Kahlil Gibran
Frank Lipman, M.D. offered that wonderful quote in his book, Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Feel Great Again, to sum up his approach to helping all people experience balance and wellness. If you feel overworked, exhausted, or ill, this book may certainly bless you with practical, simple steps to take so that you will feel revived and full of vitality again.
Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity. - Christopher Morley
Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place. [Mark Twain]
You can't really be strong until you see a funny side to things. [Ken Kesey]
"I don't
own a cell phone or a pager. I just hang around everyone I know, all the time.
If someone wants to get a hold of me, they just say 'Mitch,' and I say 'what?'
and turn my head slightly".
~ Mitch Hedberg
I love this quote. It reminds me how important it is to stay unplugged as much as possible and focus on the important things in our lives, like people.
I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
Delicious autumn!
My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns.
~ George Eliot
Nature can be a miraculous HOPE messenger. Autumn can be such a beautiful time of year! I found a small collection of beautiful poems and quotes that express it so well: click here to find a collection of quotes and poetry. I hope they will fill you with the hope that can come from seeing beauty around you.
"The family that prays together, stays together." *
Have you prayed with your family today?
*The saying is by Al Scalpone, a professional commercial-writer, and was used as the slogan of the Roman Catholic Family Rosary Crusade by Father Patrick Peyton. The crusade began in 1942 and the slogan was apparently first broadcast on 6 Mar. 1947 during the radio programme Family Theater of the Air.
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious
triumphs; even though checked by failure, than to take rank with those poor
spirits who neither enjoy much, nor suffer much because they live in that gray
twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Lowell Bennion (1908 ~ 1996) has a philosophical creed that continues to inspire me. He was an extraordinary man of service. I've been reminded this week that serving another person gets us outside of ourselves ~ and HOPE, joy and peace replace whatever negative thoughts or feelings we were having.
I've been thinking a lot this week about the impact that one person, like Lowell Bennion, can have on so many. The first food bank and homeless shelters in Utah were founded by Lowell Bennion. My grandfather, Bill Swinyard, and Lowell were neighbors and they loved to go around the neighborhood to visit people together. He used to make Lowell laugh so much. My memories of Lowell mostly have to do with his genuine smile and the way I felt when I was around him. It wasn't until many years later that I understood the impact he made on so many lives.
Here is Lowell Bennion's philosophical creed (and photo) which I have on my fridge. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:
LOWELL BENNION'S PHILISOPHICAL CREED
Learn to like what doesn't cost much
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different . . . different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house,
and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.
I salute you! There is nothing I can give you which you have not; but there is much, that, while I cannot give, you can take.
No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take Heaven.
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant. Take Peace.
The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet, within our reach, is joy. Take Joy.
And so . . . I greet you, with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
************************ ~ Fra Giovanni Giocondo [c.1433-1515] was an early Italian Renaissance pioneer, architect, archaeologist, Franciscan friar, and classical scholar.
*Take Joy! is an excerpt from FRA GIOVANNI's, "Letter To A Friend: A Letter to the Most Illustrious the Contessina Allagia Dela Aldobrandeschi", Written Christmas Eve Anno Domini 1513. However, there is some debate: "The British Museum stated in 1970 that it had “proved impossible” to identify Fra Giovanni, the purported author of this letter. It is possible that it was published in the 1930s, “with Christmas Greetings” from Greville MacDonald, son of novelist George MacDonald, and Mary MacDonald". [wikipedia]
Cari Ferraro, calligrapher, offers a beautiful print of Fra Giovanni's "Letter to a Friend". You can see it here.
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