Susan’s Thursday morning note February 14, 2013 Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, thoughts on love. Misc. quotes on love.
Good morning! Five colors to the sunrise. Birds overhead calling out “Good morning, world!” (Squawking out!). Little one with one sock barely hanging on like an elf, other foot bare. Second cup of filler with a little coffee. Absolute stillness outside. Another gift from the angel of dawn given to my soul today. Ready to write for you! One of my favorite books by my bed is Meditations from a Simple Path selections by Mother Teresa. Short prayers on giving to others and love. One of my favorites is a sign on her children’s home in Calcutta. Following her sign are some of my favorite quotes on love, including Helen Keller’s first concept of the meaning.
Take time to think Take time to pray Take time to laugh It is the source of power It is the greatest power on Earth It is the magic of the soul Take time to pray Take time to love and be loved Take time to give It is the secret of perpetual youth It is God's given privilege It is too short a day to be selfish Take time to read Take time to be friendly Take time to work It is the fountain of wisdom It is the road to happiness It is the price of success Take time to do charity It is the key to heaven.
I remember the morning that I first asked the meaning of the word "love. . . ."
Miss Sullivan put her arm gently round me and spelled into my hand, "I love Helen."
"What is love?" I asked. . . .
"Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out," she replied. . . .
"You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain and know how glad the flowers
and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You cannot touch love either;
but you feel the sweetness that it pours into everything.
Without love you would not be happy or want to play."
The beautiful truth burst upon my mind--I felt that these were invisible lines
stretched between my spirit and the spirits of others. (Helen Keller)
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile. (Mother Teresa)
Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf,
every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you
love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive
it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will
come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love. (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
A pious man came in lamentation to the great Rabbi Israel Ben Eliezer.
His son had forsaken the religion of his people and the man was
grief-stricken. “What shall I do, Rabbi?” cried the father. “Do you love
your son?” the Rabbi asked. “Of course I do,” said the man.
“Then, said the Rabbi, “love him even more.” (traditional Chassidic Jewish story)
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they
are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business.
What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render
both ourselves and our neighbors worthy. (Thomas Merton)
People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. (written by Kent Keith, hung by Mother Teresa)
Valentine’s Day. Hearts. Moments that are frozen in our memories. Moments we LOVED. Not just loved a person. Loved the gift of an exact moment we want to remember forever. Love. A child grinning at us in the mirror when we glance into back seat. New love. An older woman looking into my eyes and saying with shyness, “I just found a new friend” as she left the store. Love. Intense purring of a cat that I just gave a little bowl of milk to. Love. My husband jump starting my car for me. Twice in five minutes. Love. My favorite key lime pie in the freezer. Love. Daily phone call from elderly man that cares deeply accepting me when I don’t check up on him as often. Love. The knitted stocking caps I’ve saved worn by my treasures sleeping in cribs. Love. The little porcelain cat on my dresser given to me from my mom. Love. The smell of coffee when littlest treasure pushes the dot on the front of the bag from his grocery cart. Love. Seeing my little one run into someone else’s arms with pure joy. Books that have made me who I am. Love. The silence in the middle of the night as I walk into the still living room. Love. Memories that calm me. Love. Hot peppermint tea in hands of my son. Love. A treasure. The greatest of these is love.
Today. Another gift from the angel of dawn. A beautiful gift. Will we consciously make decisions to have something worthy of inscribing in our stone tonight? Worthy of writing on an epitaph of the moments that we will never get back? Time. Like the wind as Bess Streeter Aldrich writes. Can we make today one that we look other’s in the eye? That we smile. That we pray. That we find someone to show charity (love) to? If today hurts to you, for the loss of someone you love, I hope you will find someone to love. Even if you only have the power to show this to a small child or pet. Or even a smile to your plant (grin). Love. The birds flying over my house. The cat at the door. The little whoseit throwing a fit because I won’t let him drink my cold coffee. Love. The little treasures. Can we all focus on the small treasures regardless of what memories might hurt?
Thank you for coming over to our little store for your Valentine candy and gifts. If you need a place to enter to escape your reality, I hope you find that peace in our bookstore. Come see our new polka dots & stripes in our toy shop. How fun! List what you love on a paper to see on your refrigerator. Little gifts. Little treasures. Look to the heavens for your strength. Drop the foot mentally to your knees during the day for your peace. Promises. Have a beautiful day. A gift for our soul from our Creator. Let’s make the day worthy of the gift. Even if the gift includes a smashed banana on my Mother Teresa book and a purple dinosaur singing to me across the room. Life. So short. So beautiful in the small details. Susan
Latin for this week: sanctimonia - charity consortium - companionship Amor est vitae essentia - Love is the essence of life diligo te - deeper love amo amare, amavi, amos - I love. To love. I loved. Having been loved. Works Cited: Mother Teresa. Meditations from a Simple Path. New York. Ballentine. 1996.