A ROOTS AND WINGS BLOG by GLENN SCHIFFMAN: June 2019

6/27/2019

Mature spirituality

“What does a mature spirituality mean to you?” Two basic factors come to mind before all others. Number one: that we realize the deepest, most important work is always on ourselves. We’re not here to monitor the spiritual journey of others, although sometimes it’s very tempting to think we are. A spiritually mature person is askig, “What am I not giving? Who am I not forgiving? Where am I not embodying the principles on which I purport to stand? What is the lesson here for me? And the second factor, particularly important today, is to remember that no serious spiritual and religious path gives any of us a pass on addressing the suffering of others. We need to expand our sense of spiritual responsibility beyond the confines of our own lives. If we are here to love, that means not only our children, but also the children on the other side of town and the other side of the world. If we are to take care of our home, we need to realize that the entire earth is our home. Mature spirituality extends beyond the confines of the narrow self. ~

Marianne Williamson

6/19/2019

DECIDE

6/17/2019

One mind

6/16/2019

Trust

Wisdom at Work

Deep trust in life is not a feeling but a stance that you deliberately take. It is the attitude we call courage.

--Br. David Steindl-Rast

6/15/2019

Consuming

Old Farmer's Advice:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.
Meanness don't just happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about, ain't never gonna happen anyway.
Don't judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
Don't interfere with something' that ain't bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every morning'.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
If you get to thinking' you're a person of some influence, try ordering' somebody else's dog around.
Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and enjoy the ride.
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just shoot you!

6/10/2019

Ram Dass

Eyes that See

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"Every time we put a value as the flag of a political system, somewhere that value will cause a shadow. In the mystical teaching we say, if there is something, something is out. If there is something, something is being excluded. And if there is nothing, everything will be included. That is an interesting way of looking at governance. And that is an interesting way of running a group. In the moment I start to think that I am the conductor, it is over. As long as I am the helper of the conductor, it works. I am just the conductor helper. I am not the conductor, because the conductor is empty space. If I can honor that, if I can bow down to the empty space, I honor the most intelligent aspect of us. The space in between us is not just air, but the highest intelligence in here." ~Thomas Hübl