Mike C Sees

Sympathize, with the different burdens we each face
Understand, even as we hope to be fully understood
Recognize and respect differences
Forgive, even as God forgives us

These are cornerstones of relationships - between family members, friends and even countries.

O Great Spirit, God: Mother, Father, Guide, Comforter -
we hallow your name and seek your presence;

May your Spirit define us today and everyday;

May we find our daily bread and be filled,
yet be mindful to love everyone else as we love ourselves;

May we find forgiveness, and be forgiving in all things,
may we know goodness and choose what is healthy;

So may we share the joy of praise and devotion to your Way,
standing tall like the pine, lifting toward your Light,
and living in a way that sustains Life for all children of God,

Amen.

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance, and none can say why some fields will blossom and others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices in life no more easily made. And give. Give in any way you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than how it is shared, and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.”  Kent Nerburn - Letters to My Son

“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” –Woody Allen

Isn’t it remarkable that the man who created so much beauty through music was so unhealthy every day of his life. [All Things Considered]

An author named Michael Gelb has developed the Seven Da Vincian Principles, [How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci : Seven Steps to Genius Every Day], a guide to life based largely on the ideas in da Vinci’s notebooks. They are:

• “Curiosita- An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.
• Dimostrazione- A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
• Sensazione- The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.
• Sfumato- A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
• Arte/Scienza- The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. “Whole-brain” thinking.
• Corporalita- The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
• Connessione- A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking.”

This site offers some nice gifts, best of all the free gift of this movie, with these wise reminders for us all:

“What surprises you most about humankind?
That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again;
That they lose their health to make money, and then lose their money to restore their health;
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future;
That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived.

As a parent what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?
To learn they cannot make anyone love them - All they can do is let themselves be loved;
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others;
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness;
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them;
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least;
To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply do not yet know how to express or show their feelings;
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently
To learn that it is no enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.

My time is eternity. Just know that I am here. Always.”

[theInterviewWithGod.com]

“The toll of global poverty is a scandal. But deploring economic injustice is no answer” [Economist.com]

When I recently read Thomas Cahill’s book on The World Before and After Jesus, it included my first reading on the Shroud of Turin. It is obviously a much-discussed topic, and today I note The Shroud of Turin and the Resurrection Problem - an Anglican/Episcopal perspective