We can never underestimate this truth: No matter who you are, the biggest thing you do in any day is most often going to be a small act of kindness, decency, or love.
~ Cory Booker
Beautiful Lotus – photo by Peggy Braun
Daily Inspiration
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The obvious choice, then, is to extend our notions of self-interest. For example, it would not occur to me to plead with you, “Don’t saw off your leg. That would be an act of violence.” It wouldn’t occur to me (or to you) because your leg is part of your body. Well, so are the trees in the Amazon rain basin. They are our external lungs. We are beginning to realize that the world is our body.
~ Joanna Macy
Amazon Jungle – photo by pxhidalgo, bigstockphoto.com
Truth be told, the entire world is conscious. The whole Universe is made of consciousness or “God-stuff”, even supposedly inanimate objects like rocks. As more and more people break the shackles of the false selves and realize their true natures, interspecies communication, including both animal communication and plant communication, will become more and more common.
~ Makia Freeman
Red Deer Stag and Foggy Forest – photo by Veneratio, bigstockphoto.com
Rivers do not drink their own water, trees do not eat their own fruit, the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is…Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.
~ Pope Francis
Mountain River – photo by Ale-ks, bigstockphoto.com
Our goal is that everyone has enough. Not more. Not all. But enough, enough for living beings to share, enough for life to thrive. Spirit has given us an Earth where doing that is more than possible. All we need to do is recover from our addiction to privilege. Simple and sustainable: the path forward is broad and inclusive. Let us walk it together.
~ Steven Charleston
Grand Teton National Park – photo by Terra Tirapelli
The earth is a living thing. Mountains speak, trees sing, lakes can think, pebbles have a soul, rocks have power.
~ Henry Crow Dog
Sunrise, Hunts Mesa, Monument Valley, AZ – photo by aisha, bigstockphoto.com
Yes, a person can accept your apology and forgive you for what you’ve said, but they will never forget how you made them feel at that very moment. Words can stick in a person’s mind, heart, and spirit long after the words have been spoken. Don’t be in denial; words have GREAT power. Be wise when you speak!
~ Stephanie Lahart
European Barberry Berberis Vulgaris Flowers – photo by ArgenLant, bigstockphoto.com
Look around you. This very breath you take isn’t yours alone, it’s a shared symphony with the trees, the wind, the creatures unseen. The cosmos isn’t a collection of separate parts, it’s a cosmic play unfolding on a single stage. The trick isn’t to get lost in the multitude of roles, but to glimpse the oneness of the script. When that happens, the chattering mind surrenders. It recognizes it’s not a separate player, but a note in the grand composition. Then, the dance of existence becomes your own, infused with a sense of belonging vaster than you ever imagined.
~ Deon Emmons
Mature Linden Tree, Estonia – photo by Artenex, bigstockphoto.com
There is a kindness that dwells deep down in things; it presides everywhere, often in the places we least expect. The world can be harsh and negative, but if we remain generous and patient, kindness inevitably reveals itself. Something deep in the human soul seems to depend on the presence of kindness; something instinctive in us expects it, and once we sense it we are able to trust and open ourselves.
~ John O’Donohue
Flowers from Arenal Volcano Area, Costa Rica – photo by Piter99, bigstockphoto.com
The whole of planet earth is a sacred site.
All people are the chosen people,
and the purpose of our lives is a spiritual one.
May we care for each other, and the earth,
for everything relates to everything else.
Feeling this oneness, may we radiate the light
of love and kindness that all may live in unity
and peace.
~ Radha Sahar
Icelandic Sunset – photo by Ragnhilur Jonsdottir
Every breath is a sacrament, an affirmation of our connection with all other living beings, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and a contribution to the generations yet to come. Our breath is a part of life’s breath …
~ David Suzuki
Sunset, Makena Beach, Hawaii – photo by Indira Darst
We cannot assume the sacredness nor spiritual livingness of the earth or accept it as a new ideology or as a sentimentally pleasing idea…We must allow it to shape us, as great spiritual ideas have always shaped those who entertain them…It is an invitation to initiation, to the death of what we have been and the birth of something new.
~ David Spangler
Orchid and Zen Stones – photo by svf74, bigstockphoto.com
Modern peoples…have mainly forgotten that we live in relationship as brothers and sisters with all the beings and forces of the natural world. Our scientific redefinitions of the “unseen” as the “unreal” have caused us to forget that we are all luminous strands in a giant web of belonging.
~ don Oscar Miro-Quesada
Idaho Falls – photo by Jen Silacci
Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides…When you are aware of all that has been given you, in your lifetime and in the past few days, it is hard not to be humbled, and pleased to give back.
~ Anne LaMott
Bow Fiddle Rock at Sunrise, Scotland – photo by stroop, bigstockphoto.com
As the youngest species on the planet, it behooves us to remember that there is a great deal we still have to learn. May we grow into a recognition of our youth as a species and allow ourselves to learn from the many species who are our elders. May we be open to learning how best to survive, thrive, and collaborate, drawing from the wisdom accrued by our earth-kin elders.
~ Nancy J. Napier
Cup Fungi Rainforest, Southeast Asia – photo by IamTK, bigstockphoto.com