Whenever I feel the weight of the world pressing down, determined to take peace from my heart, I walk from room to room, looking, opening, factoring what is not needed here, not used, beyond usefulness, now taking my joy. As doors open and close, memories and regrets emerge but with nothing new to learn they are tossed, losses grieved. This I determine to keep, that I need more time to decide. I breathe in the freedom of space. As compartments open and close, dreams held, desires sought, arise like butterflies seeking life from a dark cocoon. Not all live, not all see the light of day. In this, I find the luxury of ease, knowing freedom through open hands. Allowing now the peace of my heart, the stillness of my soul. The simple elegance of walking with a light load.
“Clutter smothers. Simplicity breathes.”
Terry Guillemets
“The outer world is a reflection of the inner world. Other people’s perception of you is a reflection of them; your response to them is an awareness of you.”
Roy T. Bennett
“If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”
Chinese Proverb
Ongoing Resource List: Reading for Heart and Mind
- Wild Wisdom Edited by Neil Douglas-Klotz
- Earth Prayers From Around The World, Ed by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon
- The Tao of Relationships by Ray Grigg
- Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue
- Unconditional Love and Forgiveness by Edith R. Stauffer, Ph.D.
- Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III
- Art & Fear by David Bayless & Ted Orland
- Quantum-Touch by Richard Gordon
- The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Persons Path Through Depression by Eric Maisel, PhD
- The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
- Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
- Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living by Janis Amatuzio
- Personal Power Through Awareness by Sanaya Roman
- Violence & Compassion by His Holiness the Dahlai Lama
- Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Devotions by Mary Oliver
- To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue
- Meditations From the Mat by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison
- The House of Belonging: poems by David Whyte
- Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
- Soul an Archaeology Edited by Phil Cousineau
- A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
- Listening Point by Sigurd Olson
- I Sit Listening to the Wind by Judith Duerk
- Dancing Moons by Nancy Wood
- The Soul of Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks
- Keep Going by Joseph M. Marshall III
- Arriving at your own Door by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
- The Hidden Secrets of Water by Paolo Consigli
- Conquest of Mind by Eknath Easwaran
- Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
- Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
- I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brene Brown
- Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron
- When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
- On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
- Unattended Sorrow by Stephen Levine
- Joy in Loving, Mother Theresa
- The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
- Let Your LIfe Speak by Parker Palmer
- Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh
- The Essence of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
- Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chodron
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson
Janis Dehler 