Heart-Full Moments – April 2019

A monthly feature of “Listening with Heart” blog, sharing wise words, meaningful things read or good things found, to help warm your heart.

These are the most impactful quotes I have read or heard this month that give me pause or uplift my heart. Wisdom spoken in just a few words. They reflect what I’ve been reading or learning, or values I share, or what’s been going on in our world. 

It’s been another very challenging month, and I know we each need some insight and encouragement to keep carrying on. I am happy to share these quotes – that speak to peace, gratitude, doors closing, going beyond limitations and self-care. Take a moment to go through them and maybe highlight a few that speak to you. Enjoy…

• “To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.” – Jill Bolte Taylor

• “There is much good reason for consternation in our world. We meet difficult conditions best when we are laden with love, senses soaked in beauty and wonder, hearts ever-cognizant of the preciousness of life. We rise to most effectively meet our challenges in life when we remember that we can be grateful anyhow.” – Gratefulness Team

• “When life feels too big to handle, go outside. Everything looks smaller when you’re standing under the sky.” – L.R. Knost

• “Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.” – Mindfulness app reminder

• “I remind my clients that they have heard the saying “when one door closes another door opens” and then I tell them that nobody talks about the damn hallway! What do you do in the hallway between doors? We discuss ways they can be present in the hallway, decorate the walls, place flowers and plants to help uplift the experience, make a vision board etc. Celebrate those damn hallways!” – Carol Binta

• “I bless this day for the wonderful adventure
  eyes of wonder rather than boredom,
  it can become as I walk through it with the
  use every opportunity to express peace
  rather than irritation,
  and choose love over fear.” – Pierre Pradervand

• “For me, celebrating the wildflowers or the birds is like a kind of worship.” Michael Longley

• “Looking behind I am filled with gratitude.
  Looking forward I am filled with vision.
  Looking upwards I am filled with strength.
  Looking within I discover peace.” – Quero Apache Prayer

• “Peace, like most beautiful things, begins small.” – Common Prayer. A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

• “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true. The other is to refuse to believe what is true.” – Soren Kierkegaard

• “I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly,
  acutely miserable…but through it all
  I still know quite certainly that
  just to be alive is a grand thing.” – Agatha Christie

• “Like a firefly caught in a glass jar / I too will shine my light, / No matter my limitations.” – Morgan.love

• “It is time to unlearn the things you learned from wounded people.” – Latinx Parenting

• “Shaming is one of the deepest tools of imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy because shame produces trauma and trauma often produces paralysis.” – Bell Hooks

• “Knowing that you love the earth changes you,
  activates you to defend and protect
  and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth
  loves you in return, that feeling transforms
  the relationship from a one-way street
  into a sacred bond.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer

• “The term BIPOC, for instance — acronym for Black, Indigenous, and people of color — recognizes that Black and Indigenous people specifically endured the brunt of the violence that founded this country in the form of stolen labor and land, respectively.” – The Guardian

• “Imposter syndrome imprisons your spirit and robs the world of your gifts. ..Imposter syndrome is white supremacy and the patriarchy keeping your spirit hostage. Set yourself free.” – Dr. RosalesMeza

• “We would likely all agree that manicures, baths, and cozy movie nights on the couch all fall under the umbrella of self-care. But I believe that it’s time—actually, beyond time—to go deeper and re-claim what self-care truly means. It’s also time to see self-care as imperative, and to move it from the lonely bottom of our to-do list and plant it firmly at the very top.” – Elena Lipton

So that’s this month’s short list of Heart-Full Moments that holds some meaning for me. I hope your month has been graced with peace, gratitude, and an appreciation for spring as it blooms forth.  And that you might take a moment of pause to connect with what consoles you and replenishes your soul.

If you or someone you care about is struggling to find moments of full heartedness, please contact me for a therapy appointment.

For more ideas on how to bring more calm and less worry into your life, click here for a free email course on Mindfulness.