A favourite of mine...

I am struck by the fact that the more slowly trees grow at first the sounder they are at the core and I think the same is true for human beings. We do not wish to see children precocious, making great strides in their early years like sprouts producing a soft and perishable timber, but better if they expand slowly at first, as if contending with difficulties, and so are solidified and protected. Such trees continue to expand with nearly equal rapidity to extreme old age.

Henry David Thoreau

Image via We Heart It

Search for a Guru

I have to share another section of my current read with you, We are now in India.

"the yogis, however, say that human discontentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. We're miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws and resentments and mortality. We wrongly believe that our limited little egos constitute our whole entire nature we have failed to recognise our deeper divine character. We don't realise that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme Self who is eternally at peace. That supreme Self is our true identity, universal and divine. Before you realise this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus: "you bear God within you, poor wretch, and know it not." "

This passage and the current situation in the book got me thinking about the benefits of a Guru someone to teach you how to get in touch with your "divine self" I started thinking about whether everyone should look into this, in the book the Ashram is full of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian and it got me thinking about this notion of needing to find my divine self, then I read the above quote and I was struck by the overwhelming feeling of comfort, I have my guru and I know that I possess the love of a Divine self, for I have Jesus. He is the divine character that teaches me to live and who is eternally at peace, now I just have to work on being eternally at peace myself.

As for the Philosopher's quote, is he a "poor wretch" because he has God within him or because he doesn't know it?
Excerpt from "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert

Image via Audrey Hepburn Complex

What's your word?

A friend lent me a book recently and I am slowly digesting it's story. I read a section the other night that stuck out and got me thinking... let me explain...

After visiting Rome Liz sits down with her new Italian friend and the following takes place; "Giulio said, "Maybe you and Rome just have different words." What do you mean? He said "Don't you know that the secret to understanding a city and it's people is to learn - what is the word of the street?" Then he went on to explain, in a mixture of English, Italian and hand gestures, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people's thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever the majority thought might be-that is the word of the city. And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don't really belong there. "what's Rome's word" I asked "SEX," he announced"...

The conversation goes on to discuss cities around the world and what their word is, for example New York City "it's a verb, of course. I think it's ACHIEVE"
Los Angeles "SUCCEED"
Stockholm "CONFORM"
Naples "FIGHT"

The conversation diverts to words of people, Giulio asks "what was the word in your family when you were growing up?" and then "what's your word"

In a book that's catch phrase is "one woman's search for everything" she throws around a few words she has been such as wife, depression, marriage etc and then gets stuck on what she is now.

It got me thinking about what my one word is, what word describes my thoughts and actions and would be an appropriate headline for my life, I went through a few words that I thought might fit but none of them seemed right or maybe they just challenged me, some words I toyed with; ACHIEVE, CONFORM, DEPRESSION, SINGLE, SEEK, PASSION, POWER, SEX, none of them adequately described me or my thoughts, finally settled on the word that I think sits well with me and I'm sure that as my life continues the word will adapt, but right now I think my word is "BE"

What's your word?
excerpt from "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert

Image via We Heart It

Beyond Human Forgiveness

I have been thinking about my earlier post about forgiving those who hurt us and how hard it can be to do, and then I got to thinking about the forgiveness offered to us by God.

Human forgiveness is full of worry and rules about who should forgive first and we sometimes get caught up in these rules regarding who hurt who? who should apologise first? do they need to apologise? what happens if they don't apologise? God's forgiveness in so many ways is so much easier to gain.

God made the ultimate sacrifice by offering his son in our place, putting his son through death so that we wouldn't have to experience that, this act meant that us as sinful beings were able to be forgiven because the price of our debt has been paid. I know this gift didn't come without pain but I also know that this gift goes on and on and never expires.

While Humans remember the wrongs people make against them and struggle to forgive those who offend, God offers forgiveness to any who seek it and better than that he really does forgive AND forget!

I struggle to comprehend how this works and I have spent a lot of years believing that I'm no where near worthy enough to receive forgiveness and definitely not eligible to have my slate wiped clean- but it happened anyway. Regardless of my human failings when my struggles and mistakes are presented by me to God, the slate is wiped clean and I am free from all the hurt and pain.

The next step is to accept this forgiveness whole heartedly and then remember to forgive yourself the way you would forgive someone who has hurt you, acknowledge the wrong and then move on. I truly believe that accepting God's forgiveness and forgiving oneself is far harder than initially asking to be forgiven.

"He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:10-12

Image via We Heart It

can it be true?

Is it possible for One Tree Hill to survive without Lucas and Peyton?

will we watch without them?

pictures from musizislife77.blogspot.com and sidereel.com

is romance still alive???

"You know I could have held you forever, but it still wouldn’t have been long enough” Jake Jagielski

"I love you too… but somehow it doesn’t seem to be enough " Andy Hargrove

images from:

http://spankyluvsit.blogspot.com
http://myonetreehill.freeblog.

I found the man I want to marry!!

I'll be your man

I'll understand

And do my best to take good care of you

Yes I will

You'll be my queen

I'll be your king

And I'll be your lover too

Derry down green

Colors my dream

A dream thats daily coming true

When day is through

I will come to you

And tell you of your many charms

You'll look at me

With eyes that see

And melt into my waiting arms

And so I come

To be the one

Who's always standing close to you

Reach out for me

So I can be

The one whos always reaching out for you

I'll be your king

You'll be my queen

And I'll be your lover too.

Isn't he just the most romantic man you ever met??

Photography by Rachel Thurston, courtesy of oncewed.com

Song lyrics by Van Morrison - I'll be your Lover