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Another Day in Joy School

Quotes of the day:  “You have to sniff out joy. Keep your nose to the joy trail.”  – Buffy Sainte-Marie “We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.” – Maya Angelou Another day in joy school.  I got up early and went out to Carver Park Reserve, west of the Twin Cities.  Got to the park while the dew was still wet in the grass, the light was golden, and the breeze soft and cool.  Joy!  I had no agenda and no expectations – just Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Lost in the Woods

Quote of the day: “To be human is to be lost in the woods. None of us arrives here with clear directions on how to get from point A to point B without stumbling into the forest of confusion or catastrophe or wrongdoing.  Although they are dark and dangerous, it is in the woods that we discover our strengths.”  – Elizabeth Lesser from Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow. About three and a half months ago I was laid off from my job of 16 years as a software engineer.  After the layoff, I decide to live Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Life is Simple

  Quote of the day: “When I think about simplifying my life, I see it as a process, rather than a thing or a destination. There is no point in time when I will say to myself, ‘Ah, I have arrived. Isn’t this grand?’ It is not something that I have accomplished. It is not even anything I can really define.” – Linda Breen Pierce in Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World. So it is with all of life.  We never arrive. There is always room to learn and grow. Today has been full Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Surrender to the moment

Quote of the day:  This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you. Hafiz Another challenging week for me.  This time it wasn’t my mind that did me in. It was my body.  For some mysterious reason, my low back kicked up with huge pain last weekend and I’m still moving very carefully almost a week later.  At least I’m moving – a little (actually a very little).  And while I had planned to spend my week differently, I’ve discovered once more that I need to surrender into the moment. At first I was just Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Finding Your Voice

Quote of the day: “An artist marks out time and space boundaries or forms through which she will reveal the infinite.” , “Zen – the infinite way of doing finite things.”  Laurence G. Boldt in “Zen and the Art of Making a Living” Last Saturday I took in the Powderhorn Park Art Fair in Minneapolis and visited with several photographers who were selling photographs at the art fair.  I found myself drawn to photographers whose work spoke in a “clear voice.”  They didn’t try to be all things to all people.  Rather, they developed their own unique voice and view Read more…

By Marilyn, ago