#54 Woman

#53 Drag Them Away

#52 Eat the Frog

#51 Getting Old

#50 Pause

#49 Fish Stories

#48 Put Off

#47 Be Done With It

Oh, if this were only possible at all times.

Nights would be ever so much more restful.

#46 Rise Up

Really,

is there any other choice?

#45 Valentine's Day

Do that.

Today and Every Day.

#44 Old Friends

And we just happen to be 'stupid' together. Or 'FUN' as we prefer to say.

#43 Growth & Friendship

The first Tuesday each month is our WINGS meeting ...

 'Women in Networking Groups Soar'.

 It is all about Growth.

 And Friendship.

#42 Patience

On a morning walk today, I snapped this icy fellow.

The earth is patiently waiting for spring.

So am I.

WEEK 7: Ralph Waldo Emerson

May as well follow up Henry David Thoreau with his good friend:

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

May 25, 1803 - April 27, 1882

#41 Go Confidently

I have always loved the strength and determination in this quote.

Confidently. Such a good word.

#40 Children

Even though Thoreau did not have children, and seems to have spent most of his time as a philosopher in nature, he understood this essential concept.

A wise man, that Henry David Thoreau.

#39 Forest, Meadow & Corn

Surrounding himself with nature at Walden's Pond would have been so inspiring.

And peaceful.

#38 Walk

It's very true.

Simple as that.

#37 Life

Flowing. Moving. Sustaining life itself.

#36 Thought

There is much more depth to that statement as it would first appear.

Think about it.

#35 A Different Drummer

Thoreau's passage about 'marching to his own drummer' was likely the first quote

 that I remember paying attention to.

. It struck a cord with me perhaps because it gave me permission to be a little different.

WEEK 6: HENRY DAVID THOREAU

February 4-10th

Henry David Thoreau
July 12, 1817- May 6, 1862

Thoreau, an American author, poet, philosopher & naturalist left a great deal of wisdom in his short lifespan.  He is likely best known for his book 'Walden', in which he wrote about his four year stint in Walden's Pond in order to 'live deliberately'.  

One of his friends was Ralph Waldo Emerson. You can just imagine the creative and inspired discussions between the two of them. Perhaps one of them went like this: "What do you think we should do to ensure our perpetuity?"  "Well, Ralph ... for one, I think you need to make your name more memorable ... Ralph Emerson doesn't sound important enough." "Well, do you think Henry Thoreau does?" "You've got a point ... let's stick in our middle names." "Good idea, Ralph." In fact though, I suppose most people know them simply by their last names - 'Thoreau' ... 'Emerson'.

Being known as an anarchist, his book Walden was inspirational to Mahatma Ghandi, who read it 1906, declaring Thoreau to be "one of the greatest and most moral men America has produced."

Thoreau, who had contracted tuberculosis in 1835 died at 44 years of age, after three years of declining health suffering the effects of bronchitis. As his health failed, he became bedridden, editing his unpublished manuscripts, writing letters and journal entries and impressing his friends with his tranquility and peace of his eminent passing.

He apparently said to his Aunt Louise, in response to her question as to whether he had made peace with God: "I did not know that we had ever quarreled."  His last written sentence was: "Now comes good sailing."

Wikipedia: Henry David Thoreau

#34 Burning

Some very important wisdom in this. 

The lesson ... slow & steady endures longer.

#33 No Hurry

#32 A Butterfly

#31 Goodness

Oh. My. Goodness.

#30 Single Step

My friend Jan on our adventure in Ireland.

We took the step and wound up a thousand miles away.

And loved every minute of it.

#29 Three Treasures

Yes indeed ... all three of those are wonderful treasures.

Oh to have an abundance of them at all times.

#28 Stop Thinking

Is there not a huge amount of truth in this?

Everything stems from this one thing.

WEEK 5: LAO TSU

LAO TSU

6th Century BC

Maybe 4th or 5th

#27 Love & Light & Vision

I think I would have said 'knowing' is love and light and vision. Knowing what is important.

There are a lot of people that have a great deal of knowledge in some things,

but it doesn't bless them with love and light and vision.

#26 Tolerance

The 100 year old grandmother of a friend, when asked what was one of the greatest

changes that she had witnessed in her lifetime, said "People are more tolerant."

I hope so.

#25 Life is Good

These are the hands of my beloved aunt who celebrated her 96th birthday last week;

and the hands of a beloved Friend who will always live in my heart.

#24 Soar

This is what our women's group WINGS is all about ... we SOAR!

#23 Brave & Patient

I snapped this little guy today and thought he was perfect for this quote.

It was a frigid morning... but he was brave and patiently waiting for a joyous summer day.

#22 Walk with a Friend

Walking alone is lovely too, but there's nothing quite like walking with a friend.

#21 Adventure or Nothing

This is the sentence that I quote the most. This is the quote I live by.

 It's tatooed in my brain, front and center.

WEEK 4: HELEN KELLER

Week 4 we celebrate:

HELEN KELLER
June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968

For many of us born in a certain era, when we think of Helen Keller, we picture Patty Duke in the 1962 movie, 'The Miracle Worker'.  Ever since then, I have been in awe and admiration of Helen.

To be born in the late 1800's and accomplish what she did as a woman was impressive as it was, but to do it being blind and deaf is remarkable. She has always been the epitome of strength, courage, determination and perserverence to me.

Born in Alabama, she lost her sight and hearing to illness at 19 months. In spite of that, she lived a remarkably adventurous life - travelling the world and meeting famous people.

She had her first book published at 11, wrote an autobiography at 22 and went on to pen ten more books. She was an activist, speaking out for women's suffarage as well as labour rights.

Helen lived a full, rich and long life, leaving a legacy of wisdom and inspiration that was born of 'walking the walk'.

Wiki info to read more.

#20 Sweetness of Friendship

My beloved friends ... who know all about laughter and sharing of pleasures.

And of the joy in the little things.

#19 Stand Together

This is one of my favourites. Advice that I have lived by, which has served me well.

#18 A Flame Spirit

Don't you know it. It is truly great and powerful when passion feeds us.

It can indeed often take us further than wisdom.

#17 Breath of Life

Throughout 'The Prophet', Gibran often speaks of nature's life giving essence.

 He paints the picture so eloquently with words that we cannot help but see it with fresh eyes.

#16 Bless You

True, isn't it. It is a blessing to be with those who give so freely, generously and naturally.

This image speaks to me of that which the sea gives, and has no idea that some.

consider it a treasure.

#15 Beauty Enchanted

Really, is there anything more beautiful to see than a person alight with passion,

or an enchanted moon?

#14 Gibran Beauty in Bloom

I like the way he wrote 'for ever'. I wonder if that was the proper way back then, 

and when it was run together. That's fine too, but this way seems even longer. 

For. Ever.

WEEK 3: KAHLIL GIBRAN

The book that I have read more than any other publication, and the book that I have purchased more than any other publication is “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran. 

 I got my first copy in 1974 and have read it dozens of times since – every year at least two or three times. I have a copy of The Prophet in all of my spaces – this house, my cabin and Eden by the Sea in Newfoundland. Whenever I find one at a book sale, I pick it up to pass on to someone else. I also bought the audio, and find listening to wonderful voice who reads it, very soothing.

I made bookmarks with the quotes from The Prophet long before I started my card creations. In fact, I send his ‘On Work’ quote along with all my creations.

 Kahlil Gibran

 January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931 

 Gibran, born in Lebanon, immigrated to the USA as a young man where he studied art. He became known a literary and political rebel, and as being at the ‘heart of renaissance’ with his prose style poetry. 

Still a literary hero in Lebanon, Wikipedia states he is “chiefly known in the English speaking world for his 1923 book ‘The Prophet’ – an early example of inspirational fiction.”  It gained a resurgence of popularity in the "1960's counter-culture", which would be why I was able to find it in the early seventies.

Also quoted from Wikipedia is the fact that Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind William Shakepeare and Lao Tzu.

#13 Walk to Them

And walk IN them.

#12 An Ocean

#11 Within You

I don't doubt that for a minute. We all know what inspires us. 

 We just have to quietly go through pinterest.

#10 Plant Love

#9 Eloquence

I take the message in this to mean that often we are working so hard, trying so hard - but if we would stop for a moment and look around, we'd see the beauty that exists right in front of our eyes - nature's design.  When we are bent diligently above our own work - our minds focued on whatever task is at hand, we are missing so much eloquence that surrounds us.

#8 WINGS

This one is in honour of our monthly WINGS meeting tonight.  It is exactly what our group is about. Motivating, inspiring and helping each other find our wings and soar!

#7 I Want to Sing

I do. Exactly this.  My song is not beautiful, melodious, appealing. But I want to not care, and sing with the voice I have been given. I want to 'Sing Anyway'.

WEEK 2: Rumi

This week's wisdom comes to you from:

RUMI
September 30th, 1207 - December 17th, 1273

Rumi, who's birth name was Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, was born in Persia (now Tajikistan). His father - a scholar, theologian, jurist and mystic, also had a connection to spiritual lineage - all of which obviously had an immense impact on Rumi.

From Wikipedia:

When the Mongols invaded Central Asia sometime between 1215 and 1220, Baha ud-Din Walad, with his whole family and a group of disciples, set out westwards. according to hagiographical account, which is not agreed upon by all Rumi scholars, Rumi encountered one of the most mystic Persian poets - 'Attar'.  Attar immediately recognized Rumi's spiritual eminence. 

He saw the father walking ahead of the son and said, "Here comes a sea followed by an ocean."  He gave te boy is Asramama, a book about the entanglement of the soul in the material world. The meeting had a deep impact on the 18 year old Rumi and later on became the inspiration for his works.

He said: "When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth but find it in the hearts of men."  Certainly, almost 740 years later, Rumi's words and wisdom, do indeed rest in many hearts.

#6 This Love

 Quiet. Deep.Gentle love.

#5 Where We Started

It is in the exploring - the 'getting out there', that often brings to a great appreciation for what we have taken for granted. The opportunity to see what we have with new eyes is a gift. 

It is something that a new year, a new start presents to us, if we allow it.