finding inner peace

Sun-Hot Days

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“Stands the Sun so close and mighty –

That our Minds are hot.”

– Emily Dickinson –

 

Years ago, a slogan for Secret deodorant advertised being “cool, calm, and collected.” I wish that for you (not the deodorant but the sentiment) this week. Pause. Take a deep breath. Stay cool, calm, and collected. Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm. (And remember to wear sunscreen.)

Nature of the week – from last month’s trip to Arizona:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Investing in Goodness

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“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”

– Henry David Thoreau –

 

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

And invest in goodness – love, grace, hope, and peace – for all.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – on a kitchen window screen:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Mercy, Pity, Love, and Peace

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“For Mercy has a human heart,

Pity a human face,

And Love, the human form divine,

And Peace, the human dress.”

– William Blake –

 

May mercy overflow your heart,

may compassion wear your face,

may love take your form.

May you be clothed in peace.

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Inward Harmony, Outward Grace

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Grace is “the outward expression

of the inward harmony of the soul.”

– William Hazlitt –

 

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm. May your inner harmony echo through the world as grace.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Shadow of God

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“Love beauty;

it is the shadow of God on the universe.”

– Gabriela Mistral –

 

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

Nature of the week ­– comfrey blooms:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Like the Sun, Silent and Still

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“Be like the Sun,

King without courtiers,

silent and still as a fulcrum.”

– Rumi –

Wishing you moments of silence and stillness this week. Close your eyes. Listen to your breath. Feel the subtle messages your skin receives from the air and the textures you touch. Catch scents that drift to you. Open your eyes and focus on one small object. Notice its shape, size, colors. Listen to your breath again. Feel the peace of the moment. You’re a fulcrum, a support, a point of balance calming the world around you.

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Kissing Joy As It Flies

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“He who bends to himself a Joy

Doth the winged life destroy;

But he who kisses the Joy as it flies

Lives in Eternity’s sunrise.”

– William Blake –

 

Blake’s poem seemed perfect for this delightful link. If you have five minutes or so, treat yourself to the sound of butterflies taking flight.

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – early morning, my bedroom ceiling:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Like a Butterfly or Bee

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“Drifting about among flowers and sunshine,

I am like a butterfly or bee,

though not half so busy

or with so sure an aim.”

– John Muir –

Wishing you a holiday weekend with at least a bit of drifting about.

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

A Moment of Wonder

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“To let the moment teach us, we must allow ourselves to be at least slightly stunned by it until it draws us inward and upward, toward a subtle experience of wonder.” – Richard Rohr –

Let yourself be stunned by something as small as a rosebud or as large as a sky full of thunderheads. Let yourself be drawn into wonder.

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. And carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Nature’s Pulse – and Our Own

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“Everything new and pure

in the very prime of the spring

when Nature’s pulses were beating highest,

and mysteriously keeping time with our own!”

– John Muir –

 

Pause for a moment of peace, and notice a bud, a bloom, a spring-green leaf. Take a deep breath of the day. Match your pulse to nature’s energetic peace. Nurture that peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week – “tulips” in the tulip poplar:

Shadow of the Week – a fancy fence:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

 

Text and photos © 2019 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.