Saturday
May292010
Holding Space
May 29, 2010 * * * * * Posted by: Marcie 
"But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one's life, is it so awful to...nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day? — Elizabeth Gilbert
Today, and on many summer Sundays, we pause to hold space and give vision to the voices of others. If you have any favorite quotes – ones that makes you laugh..make you cry..or simply inspire – we’d love for you to share them here. We'll be posting them throughout these long lazy hazy summer months and days.
Reader Comments (20)
That's a great idea, and a perfect photo for the Gilbert quote, Marcie. I love the disparity in size between tree and chairs.
what a wonderful start to my sunday morning marcie! after reading your post, i went and dug out an old faded red chinese silk book that i have carried around for years; i've always written in it things that i've wanted to remember: quotes, poetry, words of any sort.
and in it is one of my favourites, by the author mark helprin
"all great discoveries are products as much of doubt as of certainty, and the two in opposition clear the way for marvelous accidents".
happy sunday to all :)
(it's not raining here on kilimanjaro, first time in days, and the sun is shining :)
What a relaxing image for your holiday weekend, Marcie! I say 'your' because Memorial Day is not celebrated here this weekend (May 4 the Dutch remember their dead but it's not a holiday). What is it about summer! The kids are off school and the pace of everyone is lighter and more casual. It reminds me of jeans day on Fridays at work back in that day. Everyone seems to smile and relax more...and often get only the important things done.
Today the only quote on my lips is one from Shakespeare: "I can no other answer make but thanks and thanks and ever thanks." I woke up yesterday to the news that on Friday my 9-year-old grandson was attacked by 3 pitbulls but was able to stand his ground against them and had only puncture/bruise wounds and no stitches required.
Today I need the calmness of this sanctuary, hovered over by the immensity of Nature's love and care, symbolized by this tree. Life goes on and helps us relax with a peace that passes all understanding. I know you would sit with me in those chairs...and I would be calmed, blanketed with love.
This is a lovely post to start Sunday with :) I really like the photograph and the way that the tree dwarfs the chairs. It gives a wonderful sense of the true order of things.
One of my favourite quotes is:
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.
John Muir
Nature has a wonderful healing power when we are receptive to it, and even the storms can leave us feeling stronger.
Ginnie - I'm thankful that your grandson is not badly hurt. I'm not surprised that you need calmness today; it will take a while, I'm sure, to regain peace and I hope that your grandson heals quickly. He sounds like an incredibly brave little boy.
I'll sit quietly too, and listen, to you, Eliza, John Muir, Nature, and to my sister, singing with her, "thanks and thanks and ever thanks" for our precious Nicholas.
The pictures shown, breathes calm, relax, sit back, close your eyes and rejoice life.
I should say LIFE and embrace it.
'Live each day as if it might be the last', I know easier said than done, seen what happened to Ginnie's grandson, does make one realise how vulnerable LIFE is....in that regard I will repeat the words 'Thank You' over and over again.
Summer does make people more relaxed, more pleasant to be with, however strange things happen here in Holland, if it is too hot for more than 2 weeks, a lot people get 'short fused' and are very explosive.
lovely picture! good point to relax for a moment.
Ginny: what an awful experience, thank god he is not badly hurt.
"Be happy. It's one way of being wise" Colette
Love the idea and the photo
He prayed - it wasn't my religion.
He ate - it wasn't what I ate.
He spoke - it wasn't my language.
He dressed - it wasn't what I wore.
He took my hand - it wasn't the color of mine.
But when he laughed - it was how I laughed;
and when he cried, it was how I cried.
~~Amy Maddox
I love this quote - it speaks to our differences as human beings across the wide world that we live, but it most importantly speaks to what makes us all the same - our laughter and our tears. I wish that was remembered more often.
Ginnie - I'm so glad your grandson is okay. He must be a fierce and brave little man. What a scary experience for your whole family.
A perfect combination of quote and photo, you are always so good at pairing words with your images...one of my all time favorites is:
"All that is gold does not glitter,
not all those who wander are lost,
the old that is strong does not wither,
deep roots are not reached by the frost."
J.R.R. Tolkien
(Not that we have to worry about frost these days...)
though no one can go back and make a new start,
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
-annonymous
My favourite quote is from a fortune cookie....
"The moment you were born a problem was solved."
For me this quotes speaks of belonging, meaning, and being exactly enough....
What a gorgeous picture to describe this lazy Sunday afternoon feeling during summer!! One of my favourite quotes was made by one of my fabourite artists: Judy Garland. She said: Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
Ginnie, I hope your grandson will recover quickly! It is such a frightening event what happened to him!!! Thank Mother Earth for his good fortune on not getting badly hurt!!!
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
...Joyce Kimer
It's one of my favorite poems. It rattled in my brain when I saw the photograph.
What a gorgeous old tree, and a lovely and very peaceful setting.
i am here with you for sure ... this is not a famous quote..not even a very good one but it is the space i am in today and will be for awhile i suppose..from my blog:
"transition of time is like bricks and birds
stable . grounded . solid
light . free . motion
a little of each
in us all"
i am here with you for sure ... this is not a famous quote..not even a very good one but it is the space i am in today and will be for awhile i suppose..from my blog:
"transition of time can be like bricks and birds
stable . grounded . solid
light . free . motion
a little of each
in us all"
I love trees – yours is opulent, if you can say that about a tree. I have started to take pictures of trees, when I see one I like. I place them in a special folder – maybe someday I’ll make a post on trees.
I have a document full of quotes which I have been gathering for years. The last one I entered (and I don’t remember where I found it) is this one:
"Unhappiness takes so much time." Eleanor Ross Taylor, American poet
"We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love... and then we return home."
//Australian Aboriginal Proverb
Such a beautiful and calm image.
As a teenager, I cut this quote from a magazine and had it on my desk -- from high school through college and on in to my early teaching days.
"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." ~John Cassis