I Want You to Know

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I want you to know things can change.
I want to show you joy and peace.
I want to show you the goodness of life,
how an easy smile feels,
how letting go makes way
for the freedom of dancing,
how rain is refreshment
and thunder is a wonder.
I want to knock your fear on the head
and say back off!
I want you to taste apples and grapes
and all tangs of cheeses,
to smell jasmine
and pungent green onions
and fully inhale both.
I want to share with you
the peace of a pause,
the huge-hearted hug of hope,
the delight of simply being.
I want you to know things can change.
-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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Text and photos © Karyn Henley 2025. All rights reserved.

St. Augustine’s Fear—And Mine

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

St. Augustine once said, “I fear that Jesus will pass by me unnoticed.” I fear that the gifts of this day will pass by me unnoticed—the cloud formations, the birds, the fragile blooms open to the sun at this moment, the peace within this day. So as I move through this day, I hope to look for the gifts that nature has for me and linger with them. – kh, Linger: 365 Days of Peaceful Pauses

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.

Easing Change, Quieting Fear

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Kindness eases change.

Love quiets fear.”

– Octavia F. Butler, Parable of the Talents –

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

Just to clarify, I’m not talking about the peace of ignorance or the kindness of platitudes or the calmness of inaction. I’m talking about a reservoir of inner peace, kindness, and calm that strengthens, balances, and guides our thoughts, our words, our actions.

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.

What Remains to be Feared?

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“In the course of my work this last long winter, I have experienced a truth more completely than ever before: that life’s bestowal of riches already surpasses any subsequent impoverishment. What, then, remains to be feared? Only that we might forget this! But around and within us, how much it helps to remember!”

– Rainer Maria Rilke, A Year With Rilke –

Remember life’s riches. 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.

Live, Breathe, Give: A Child’s Wisdom

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

This week, two quotes from children’s books seem timely:

“To fear is one thing.

To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.”

– Katherine Paterson, Jacob Have I Loved –

“Live courage, breathe courage and give courage.”

– Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon –

Nourish peace and cultivate loving kindness. Then live calm, breathe calm, and give calm.

Nature of the week: Japanese apricot blooming at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens:

Shadow of the Week:

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

For my posts on coming of age in a community of faith, link here.

Can We Feel the Eternal?

I Have Loved the Stars

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”

– Sarah Williams –

Even when stars are not visible – in daylight or under cloud cover at night – they are still there. And when life around us seems cloudy and dark, love is still there. Love holds steady. Grace holds. Kindness holds. These are our stars in the darkness. If we locate them, we can trust them to guide us on our journey; out of trust, hope is born. Step toward love. Step toward grace. Step toward kindness. And carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

For my posts on coming of age in a community of faith, link here.

The Essential Invisible