“Why do you assume that an existence that does not succeed in taking root or bearing fruit in the form of a tangible work is less valuable than another? Why might not the world, which has need for stable families and settled people, need also these mobiles and wandering creatures whose action takes the form of series of seemingly unrelated trials or tests cutting across all kinds of areas?…We must, to a certain extent, look for a stable port, but if Life keeps tearing us away, not letting us settle anywhere, this in itself may be a call and a benediction.”
–Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
inventory
Morning Trip (313)
“Journeys bring power and love
Back into you. If you can’t go somewhere,
Move in the passageways of the self.
They are like shafts of light,
Always changing, and you change
When you explore them.”
–Rumi
Morning Trip (297)
“Imagine that one day you are out for a walk in the woods. Suddenly you see a small spaceship on the path in front of you. A tiny Martian climbs out the spaceship and stands on the ground looking up at you . . .
What would you think? Never mind, it’s not important. But have you ever given any thought to the fact that you are a Martian yourself?
It is obviously unlikely that you will ever stumble upon a creature from another planet. We do not even know that there is life on other planets. But you might stumble upon yourself one day. You might suddenly stop short and see yourself in a completely new light. On just such a walk in the woods.
I am an extraordinary being, you think. I am a mysterious creature.
You feel as if you are waking from an enchanted slumber. Who am I? you ask. You know that you are stumbling around on a planet in the universe. But what is the universe?
If you discover yourself in this manner you will have discovered something as mysterious as the Martian we just mentioned. You will not only have seen a being from outer space. You will feel deep down that you are yourself an extraordinary being.”
–Jostein Gaarder
Morning Trip (276)
“If integrate means ‘to make whole,’ then its opposite is to fracture, disown, disjoin, detach, unravel, or separate. I think many of us move through the world feeling this way. The irony is that we attempt to disown our difficult stories to appear more whole or more acceptable, but our wholeness–even our wholeheartedness–actually depends on the integration of all of our experiences, including the falls.”
–Brene Brown
Morning Trip (274)
“There are two kinds of silence, it seems to me. One is that place where we tuck out thoughts and feelings. You can betray in silence, brood in silence, envy, pity, plot, year, admire, condemn, lie to yourself, lie to your conscience, forgive yourself, forgive others, all in silence. Love. You can love in silence. You usually do.
Which leads to the second kind of silence, where you find yourself from time to time, surrounded by, engulfed in–that greater silence, to which all other silences run, when you realize that we are all part of the same poem, the same vast poem that began in the first cosmic spark and will end at the last amalgamation of the stars–a limerick, a sonnet, a fucking epic to which surrender becomes a kind of understanding. It’s as if sound, all sound, constituted an intrusion of people invented because they could not stand the overwhelming power of that silence.”
–Roger Rosenblatt, Thomas Murphy
Morning Trip (261)
“So I buck up and admit it. ‘OK, I think you’re probably right. Maybe I do have a problem with control. It’s just weird that you noticed. Because I don’t think it’s that obvious on the surface. I mean–I bet most people can’t see my control issues when they first look at me.'”
–Elizabeth Gilbert
Morning Trip (242)
“Passion is a beautiful thing. It is the motivator by which we can realize our dreams. But the fear of failure can create such a strong vision that it will paralyze our intent and extinguish the flame that fuels the passion. Simply put fear can keep us from living the life of our dreams.
One way to overcome this fear is to question it by asking yourself things such as:
What am I afraid of?
Where does the fear come from?
Am I willing to let fear keep me from pursuing my passion?
Focusing on all the steps it make take to achieve your final goal can have the effect of fanning the flames of fear. Instead, just take one small step forward in the direction of your passion. With this step, you become aware of the strength of your intent, and the fear begins to fade away…”
–Don Miguel Ruiz, Jr., Living A Life of Awareness
Morning Trip (229)
“Poverty is not the absence of goods, but rather the overabundance of desire.”
–Plato
Elisa's Spot 