Quotes with thought-provoking comments, contemplating the spiritual. Inspiration for lovers of words and deep thoughts. Thank you for your visit! - Denny Lyon
What About Angels? From Denny: Humanity spends a lot of time agonizing over "what other people think" about them. What if we are observed by what we cannot physically see - yet sense on a deeper level?
What if angelic beings are real and just exist in a veiled close dimension of time but are not present in our exact time and space? How do you think they might perceive our daily lives and choices as they are witness to our time here on Earth?
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The Social Poets: Obama Speaks To Hate Merchants, Rush Limbaugh Insults To Women: From Denny: Rush Limbaugh refuses to apologize for "slut, prostitute and whore" comments against American women in general and against Sandra Fluke in particular. President Obama jumped into the fray, denying Limbaugh any satisfaction, phoning law student Fluke for an encouraging conversation.
Georgetown law student, Sandra Fluke, was prohibited from testifying to a House committee about support of government mandated contraceptive health care coverage.
The Republicans refused to allow any woman to testify unless they chose said woman for the all male religious panel that amounted to a predetermined outcome kangaroo court. The female politicians in the House were outraged so they held their own hearing for Fluke to testify publicly and honestly without editing from the Republicans preventing her liberty and free speech.
Have a great Memorial Day holiday, chill out to shed yourself of some stress, enjoying some time with family and friends. Be sure to lift your glass to toast those who came before us, sacrificing their lives for our freedom during war time or those who sacrificed as good friends to help keep us balanced in the mundane places of life. Take time to remember the best people in your life and celebrate them this special holiday."
From Denny: Just in time to celebrate Mothers Day! This is a special quote about the stages of our lives in relationship to a person who figures prominently in our lives, for better or for worse: Mother.
When you were a child did you ever notice that your parents were growing up with you? That was a pretty astonishing observation that practically knocked me over when it struck my mind for a new awareness. I was three years old.
I soon realized that childhood was not all it was promised to be. From then on I started parenting my parents when they were so stressed they couldn't make decisions and move forward to resolve the situations. If my parents' friends and bosses only knew... :) Who said mothering only applied in the traditional sense?
The Stages Of Motherhood
4 Years Of Age - My Mommy can do anything 8 Years Of Age - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot 12 Years Of Age - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything 14 Years Of Age - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that either 16 Years Of Age - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned 18 Years Of Age - That old woman? She's way out of date 25 Years Of Age - Well, she might know a little bit about it 35 Years Of Age - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion 45 Years Of Age - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it 65 Years Of Age - Wish I could talk it over with Mom...
*** Make sure to pay a visit to The Mother Post for all the funny links from several other Mothers Day posts to enjoy:
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From Denny: Pull out the tissues because you are going to need them! If you are not crying your eyes out, wondering if you emptied out the tears reservoir, then you need to watch the hour long special of this story. Yes, it's that good. If you are in need of having your faith restored in the goodness of strangers, then this story is for you. These ordinary people will astound, amaze and delight your heart.
The entire town of Grafton, Wisconsin came to the aid of a single mother battling breast cancer who has 13 year old triplets. Two of those triplets are seriously ill with a life long degenerative disease and are already now in wheelchairs. They needed so much. A whole town of neighbors, many who lost their homes and their jobs, came together to help the Longoria family remodel their home so the kids could get around in wider halls and larger spaces.
It's quite an amazing story of what spiritual development is really all about: helping someone else when you have lost so much. There is a man in the process of losing his home because he's been out of work for two months. Yet he came and volunteered every day to renovate the house. There is a hotel owner who gave the family free rooms for the entire time it took to renovate the house.
There is an AIDS charity CEO, living on 40% less income now and facing an uncertain personal financial future, who showed up to organize and raise funding - cheerfully. Another story is of a mother who lost her son 19 years ago and today came to be the interior designer for this family's renovated home. She said this is the first time she has not felt emotional pain since the death of her child.
This first video is a clip that was featured on the news. The other video clips tell the story. The full story and more links are at Dateline and it's an hour show worth watching. It reminds me of a real life story to match the famous Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." What's so much fun about this story of giving is how the giving rolled into something bigger than the project itself. People got into the spirit of giving and the joy was contagious, drawing thousands of people to volunteer during construction or to help fund the project.
A Circle of Hands is a poem written by one of the volunteers to remember the "Hometown Heroes" project that healed the town.
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
From Denny: This particular quote really speaks to me. I've spent a lifetime of getting blowback for not following the crowd off the cliff. Either it's relatives angry I don't go along with turning a blind eye to abuse or surrounded by neighbors angry I refused to vote for or support Bush think.
Can you really spend your life worrying about what other people really think about you? Sure, we all want to be liked and loved, but at what price? Is it worth it to be liked by mean-spirited people who will turn on you in a flash second if the wind blows in suddenly? What's the point of cultivating shallow relationships that won't hold up under the slightest pressure? Better to have a smaller group of real friends who are not pretend supporters than a huge gaggle of fawning admirers who are insincere.
After observing how our lives have played out over time, my choices were validated and vindicated - eventually. :) And I've ended up the happiest one because I chose to be true to my inner self, at all costs.
Quote
Cautious, careful people always casting about to preserve their reputation or social standards never can bring about reform. Those who are really in earnest are willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathies with despised ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences. - Susan B. Anthony
Psalm 91:11 - And He will give His Angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways.
From Denny: Since this particular poem was a hard write, and I'm a bit emotionally tired and saturated to say the least, here's the link to my latest poem over at The Social Poets, called Rock, My Children. Found some awesome art photos over at flickr to illustrate it!
Rock, My Children is about how to deal with loss. Never planned on writing about these experiences but lately there has been so much news about people encountering terrible loss in their lives. And, here it is the 911 anniversary, a tough day for so many folks all over the world.
When I was fishing around for inspiration I found Robin's blog Naked in Eden and some of those word phrases sprinkled throughout one of her posts just struck me right (like "abyss of emotion") and before I knew it the poem was forming in my head. Went to flickr first before writing it down as the poem was still a lot of raw emotions swirling and I needed some visual anchors.
Rock, My Children deals with loss, disappointment, and looking to the future for understanding Life's Plan. When you ask the question, you receive the answer though it may take fifteen years like it did in my case.
Received an incredibly awesome comment from fellow spiritual blogger Robin from Naked in Eden after I sent her the link to show her how she had inspired me to write the poem. Just skip on past the poem to read what she has to say it's that great! I've been grinning silly all day - and behind in my posting - since she posted that loving comment...
From Denny: Just found this hilarious true video of a bride laughing so hard at the altar she almost fell over when they were trying to say their vows. The laughter is contagious! Laughter really IS the best medicine!
From Denny: There's nothing like putting your parents up for sale to get the conversation started like this guy did! This news story sounds like a tutorial on how to do it. What started as a fun idea snowballed into a sensation. I can only imagine what his parents told their son off camera ... :)
This was the poem I wrote last week for my Friday poem over at The Social Poets blog and I've been meaning to get it up over here. The folks over at StumbleUpon came in by the hordes for these wonderful photos, enjoy!
Drink in the richness of the wonderful photos from the photographers over at flickr in creative commons. (I find them beautiful and emotionally soothing.) You are free to use their photos if you also give attribution and a link back to their flickr page.
I've been thinking about what poem to write all week, and, as usual, started on another idea which just didn't gel well or in time. That's what's good about setting deadlines for yourself as you get that rush of adrenaline going to get out the words. :) Anyway, was researching some wonderful photos and kept finding awesome trees and one thing led to another as I knew my eternal mind was tapping my everyday mind on the shoulder and saying, "Hey! What about this?"
Photos often do give me inspiration for writing as so many ideas start flowing. Take a trip on over to flickr yourself to get inspired. You can always view my 5,000+ favorites I've found while researching for articles as I keep them bookmarked "just in case."
*****
People Trees
Some of us ruggedly root ourselves mountain high to savor the views
Some of us enjoy beauty’s lingering mirrored perfection
Some of us feel forlorn in life’s landscape, until we see we are a duet
Some of us like to stand tall with a crowd, all in a perfect row
Some of us like to party with different people, the more the merrier
Some of us like to stand out in a crowd, fiercely plumped proud
Some of us see our own rippling beauty, reflected in the mirrors of others
Some of us rush to greet the exploding morning at first blush
Some of us sway and bend with life’s swirling storms yet remain
Some of us rush zig zagging through life and still look wildly beautiful
Some of us safely hold dear a child’s swing and his playful heart
Some of us are strong, sheltering lightly in the shadows
Some of us rise up from the water and tenaciously breathe through our knees*
Some of us suffer, enduring kindly a bit of indignity from time to time
Some of us absorb the strongest truth, filtering softly inner light
Some of us like to stroll unknown passageways and secret gardens
Some of us play hard to get, secretly happy to see company coming
Some of us like to wear jewelry, all decked out at least once a year
And some of us
dream big
just by looking up – lost in thought for hours.
Denny Lyon Copyright 20 August 2009 All Rights Reserved
* Copyright is for the text of the poem only, copyright for the photos belong to the photographers.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for visiting!
*Cyprus trees have what are called "knees" - those bumps you see sticking out of the water near the roots which are underwater in the swamps. These knees are how the cyprus tree breathes the air!
From Denny: As I was researching funny marriage quotes for my newer blog housing funny quotes, Dennys Funny Quotes, I practically fell off my chair when I read this one by our beloved Gandhi which the West holds in such high esteem. We often forget that even the saints among us had to learn the road to sainthood, reminding us it can be an arduous journey.
On the serious side of thought, this quote reveals a lot of soul-searching on Gandhi's part about the equality of men and women and the seeking of a more positive manner in which to live that relationship.
You really have to appreciate his sense of humor and personal humility in stating this lesser known quote.
Quote
* I first learned the concepts of non-violence in my marriage. - Mahatma Gandhi.
(Gandhi was a philosopher from India who had studied to become a Christian Methodist minister in Victorian England but abandoned it because of the English racism. He was also internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest against British colonial rule, 1869-1948.)
From Denny: As we live our lives people are always asking for our advice, or are they? Many times people just want a "sounding board" to hear the sound of their own voice out loud with another live person listening. That little drama is so they don't appear to be talking to themselves like a crazy person. Since the new technology of BlueTooth phones people are now just left wondering if you are still crazy by walking around with an ear attachment that still makes you look like you are talking to yourself in public places... :)
When the (inevitable and dreaded) time comes to give advice the result is usually the expected: outright rejection because of the fear of change, waffling with doubt because it challenges them to change, and, even though they know they need to change to get a better outcome, they are still sitting on the fence in the decision department. Then there are the salesmen who try to sell you on their version of how to handle their dilemma which usually makes no sense, sometimes is laughable and you then you have to stifle the giggle. People: love them anyway!
Quotes
* Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself. - Cicero
* Sometimes I give myself admirable advice, but I am incapable of taking it. - Mary Wortley Montagu
* When we ask advice we are usually looking for an accomplice. - Charles Varlet de La Grange, Pensées, 1872
* Some people like my advice so much that they frame it upon the wall instead of using it. - Gordon R. Dickson
Since yesterday was my birthday I thought I'd mellow out on the early AM posting today... :)
Here's the comment I left on her page - What a beautiful piece, loved it! And such good encouragement to others to dare, one more time, in spite of feeling burned out emotionally, to love once again, discovering they can now rest in the loving. Thank you for the word treat! Blogging this on over to my poetry blog for everyone else to enjoy too! Thank you for writing it.
From Denny: The word "honesty" is often batted about like a cheap tennis ball these days. Many people use it as an excuse to be cruel to others for in so doing they think they have taken away someone else's power and gained a step above the one they hurt. It's a sick dance and it's pretty amazing how many people are willing to participate in such a relationship. Too often those are close relationships like parent and child or spouses. No one seems to stop long enough to realize the destructive pattern and then they wonder why they are so unhappy in life.
Honesty does have another side to it in the form of living your own life in Truth. Often it does entail taking a long hard look in the mirror and making changes on the heart level. Honesty is a big help when you are going through that transformation process.
Honesty is best delivered first to self, then to others. And when you are thinking about delivering honesty to others ask yourself one question: Do they really want to hear this? Most times the answer is No, not really.
But what about the friend whose husband is cheating on her? Answer: You don't tell her. You know why? Because she will refuse to believe you. Then the second step is that after she finds out you were telling her the truth she will hate you for telling her. End of your relationship as she reconciles with her annoying husband. I've seen that situation play out time and time again.
We all want to desperately tell our good friends when someone is "doing them wrong." The problem is the vast majority of people are not yet ready to hear - and when they are at that place in their life when they are ready - it will be revealed without your intervention. Your job as a good friend is to wait patiently until your friend comes to you and tells you all about it, seeking comfort from you. Most people do want comfort and sympathy - and will accept it.
"Honesty is the cruelest game of all, because not only can you hurt someone - and hurt them to the bone - you can feel self-righteous about it at the same time." - Dave Van Ronk
From Denny: Since I was a child I've had a love of quotations. Never have I seen anything like this quote expressed! It's the kind of quote that takes a bit of life experience to know that it is true as many of us have wrestled with it whether as children or as adults. Your life is more difficult if you do not learn this life skill - the sooner the better - and it can apply in personal relationships or business.
"Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth." ~ Ludwig Börne
Here is an interesting "I'm trying to figure this all out" article, enjoy!
"When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free." - Catherine Ponder
From Denny: Forgiveness is an art form long over-looked in our technology fast-paced society. This is one of the loveliest quotes I've seen on the subject.
"To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness." - Robert Muller
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