Calendar Miscellaney

First of all, I'm not sure that 'miscellaney' is a word and if it is, whether I spelled it correctly or not. I think it is, but I couldn't find it in the dictionary. However, I believe it works and so just roll with me on this one.

I have a calendar called: Thoughts for the Journey by a group that once existed called Journey into Freedom. They were big into social justice and serving the poor.

Daily I'm supposed to flip a page a read a quote and truly, most the time the quotes are quite inspiring.

Take for instance the one that came up on the day my daughter was born:
Our truth is an ancient one: That love endures and overcomes; that hatred destroys; that what is obtained by love is retained, but what is obtained by hatred proves a burden. ~American Friends Service Committee
What a great quote to have on the day you're born! May those words linger in my tiny girl's soul.

My life has been a bit chaotic lately and so for a couple months, the calendar was stuck on April 10:
Everything that happens to you has the potential to deepen you. ~John O'Donohue
I guess if the calendar had to stay on a day due to chaos, that's a good quote to hang on to.

And then, while trying to organize the chaos the other day, I decided to have the calendar be on the right day. I mean, it sits on my bedstand, so it would be nice to wake up each morning and flip to the day's date and start the morning with a word of wisdom.

Here is what June 8 says:
It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them. ~George Elliot



I've had a difficult time not worrying lately. Worry and stress. And while I don't want to downplay how these two friends (worry and stress) can drag a person's heart through the mud, I also want to say this:

That I think worry and stress also point to that for which we long. They are descriptors of that which we want most in life. And it is those longings, those wishes, that point to who we truly are and what we hunger after. Are those things good? Are they lovely?

And I think that what we long for and what we wish for hang around the door that leads to our calling. I wonder if things like stress and worry are the locks on that door that keep us from going after that which would make us thoroughly alive. I believe that worry and stress in a very unsatisfying way, satiate our hunger and so we forget that what the worry and stress were pointing to, are, after all, good and lovely.

I'll be back on another day to talk about my worries. For now, though, the quote for this day, June 10:

Don't let your business determine your priorities, but rather let your priorities determine your business. ~Craig Nyschens