giving moment

THE GIVING TREE - by Shel Siverstein

"Once there was a tree and she loved a little boy" -
And so begins the story of a tree being happy
because she is able to make the boy happy.
At first the boy desires nothing but to climb on her branches,
eat her apples
and lie in her shade.
But as the boy grows,
so do his desires.
Because of the tree's love
she gives her apples for him to sell for money to have real fun,
her branches that he might build a house for a wife and family,
her trunk so he could build a boat and sail away from the boredom of life.
One day the prodigal returns to the tree that loves him.
By now she has given him everything:
all that remains of her is an old stump.
The boy,
now an old man,
needs only a quiet place to sit and rest.
And the giving tree gives once more.

gift moment

How do we make our deaths gifts for others?
Very often people's lives are destroyed,
harmed,
or permanently wounded by the deaths of their relatives or friends.
We have to do whatever we can to avoid this.
When we are near death what we say to those who are close to us,
whether in spoken or in written words,
is very important.
When we express gratitude to them,
ask forgiveness for our shortcomings
and offer forgiveness for theirs,
and express our sincere desire that they continue their lives without remorse
but remembering the graces of our lives,
then our deaths can become true gifts.
Henri Nouwen

talk moment

Talk must always come from a place of silence

and not from a place of aggression and power

joy moment

Where there is no joy there can be no courage;
and without courage all other virtues are useless.
Edward Abbey

Love and joy help give us not only the will to persist through adversity,
but also to blossom,
to find meaning in life
and develop our potential as human beings

tear moment

You can draw near to God even though you cannot say a word.

A prayer may be crystallised in a tear.

A tear is enough water to float a desire to God.

Charles H. Spurgeon

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty;

to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves,

more and more peace,

and to reflect it onwards to others.

And the more peace there is in us,

the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.

Etty Hillesum