Heart and Shelter

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YOU ARE SHELTERED FROM THE STORM

All shall
be well,
and all shall
be well,
and all manner
of thing
shall be well.

—Julian of Norwich, 14th century

THE HEART IS WIDE

The world stands out on either side
No wider than the heart is wide;
Above the world is stretched the sky,
No higher than the soul is high.
The heart can push the sea and land

Farther away on either hand;
The soul can split the sky in two,
And let the face of God shine through.
But East and West will pinch the heart
That cannot keep them pushed apart;
And he whose soul is flat—the sky
Will cave in on him by and by.

— Edna St. Vincent Millay

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

SING TO ME

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Come sister, come sing to me.
We are both enlivened by the same spirit,
We are both nurtured by the same earth.

I feel your roots beneath the earth,
beneath me I am in awe of your majesty

Your limbs stretch to the heavens
Letting in just enough light for me to find my own way.
You sing softly to me in the breeze

I am at peace here.
I am home here.
I am safe here.
I am free to think my thoughts and hear your whispers,

“Stay free for me, come sing with me.
We are both enlivened by the same spirit,
We are both nurtured by the same earth.
Come sister, come sing with me.”

—Adrienne O’Hare

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD

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Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn:
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

—Matthew 5:3–10

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Daily Spiritual Renewal

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OUR SPIRITS ARE BEING RENEWED EVERY DAY

We are pressed on every side by troubles,
but we are not crushed and broken.
We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit.
That is why we never give up.
Though our bodies are dying,
our spirits are being renewed every day.
For our present troubles are quite small
and won’t last very long.
Yet they produce for us an immeasurably
great glory that will last forever!

—2 Corinthians 4:8–18

THE WRITER’S PRAYER

Awaken to a new dawn,
I stretch to Infinity ‘n reach Beyond the Stars,
In an instant I return,
filling every tissue, sinew, with Joy,
I feed the nectar of life, into each molecule and cell,
The mind and body embrace Divine love
Through the eye of time I see eternity,
Life in life shine bright,
Shine the torch of majestic light,
Find the path to my universal frame,
So I may bask in the wisdom of pure potential,
Guide my hand to write your words.

—Michael Levy

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Blooming Under Pressure

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“It always seems impossible until it is done.”

—Nelson Mandela

“If you hear the dogs, keep on going. If you hear gunfire, keep on going. If you hear shouts and footsteps, keep on going.”

—Harriet Tubman

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”

—Suzy Kassem

“Nothing in nature blooms all year. Be patient with yourself.”

—Unknown

“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.”

—John Steinbeck

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Prayerful Practice: The Healing Power of Time in Nature

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The purpose of a nature-focused meditative walk is to remind you of all the natural beauty that exists around you every day. I like to do it whenever I’ve spent much of the day (or the week) inside, especially if I’ve been focused primarily on difficult tasks or complaints.

Begin by standing still outside. Take a deep breath in and let it out, then take your first step, walking and breathing normally, not too fast and not too slow. As you walk, take notice of your surroundings. Look for pockets of nature—is grass peeking through the cracks in the sidewalk? Are there trees and bushes anywhere? How about flowers? Look for green plants, brown earth, blue or gray sky. Is it cold or warm? Bright or cloudy? Continue your walk and observe your surroundings without judging them: let them be what they are.

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Rules for Resilience

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“The key of persistence opens all doors closed by resistance.” —John Di Lemme

“Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.” —Virgil

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” —2 Chronicles 15:7

“Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.” —Benjamin Franklin

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” —Confucius

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

ON THIS LONG, ROUGH ROAD

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Promise me,
promise me this day,
promise me now,
while the sun is overhead
exactly at the zenith,
promise me:

Even as they
strike you down
with a mountain of hatred and violence;
even as they step on you and crush you like a worm,
even as they dismember and disembowel you,
remember, brother,
remember:
man is not our enemy.

The only thing worthy of you is compassion—
invincible, limitless, unconditional.
Hatred will never let you face
the beast in man.

One day, when you face this beast alone,
with your courage intact, your eyes kind,
untroubled
(even as no one sees them),
out of your smile
will bloom a flower.

And those who love you
will behold you
across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.

Alone again,
I will go on with bent head,
knowing that love has become eternal.
On the long, rough road,
the sun and the moon
will continue to shine.

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Learning, Growing, and Peace

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LEARN AND GROW

Failures are part of life.
If you don’t fail,
you don’t learn.
If you don’t learn,
you’ll never change.

—Walter Hiram Harmon

THE FIRST HABIT OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE HUMANS

Most of the important things in the world
have been accomplished by people
who have kept on trying
when there seemed to be no hope at all.

—Dale Carnegie

PEACE IN THE HOME, PEACE IN THE HEART

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

—Lao Tse

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

MAKE AWARENESS YOUR HOME

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I have no parents:
I make the heaven and earth my parents.

I have no home:
I make awareness my home.

I have no life and death:
I make the tides of breathing my life and death.

I have no divine powers:
I make honesty my divine power.

I have no means:
I make understanding my means.

I have no secrets:
I make character my secret.

I have no body:
I make endurance my body.

I have no eyes:
I make the flash of lightning my eyes.

I have no ears:
I make sensibility my ears.

I have no limbs:
I make promptness my limbs.

I have no strategy:
I make “unshadowed by thought” my strategy.

I have no design:
I make “seizing opportunity by the forelock” my design.

I have no miracles:
I make right action my miracle.

I have no principles:
I make adaptability to all circumstances my principle.

I have no tactics:
I make emptiness and fullness my tactics.

I have no talent:
I make ready with my talent.

I have no friends:
I make my mind my friend.

I have no enemy:
I make carelessness my enemy.

I have no armor:
I make benevolence and righteousness my armor.

I have no castle:
I make my immovable mind my castle.

I have no sword:
I make absence of self my sword.

—Samuari Song, fourteenth century

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.