There now flows a constant stream of tenderness, a stream in which all petty desires seem to have been extinguished. All that matters now is to be kind to each other with all the goodness that is in us……Etty Hillisum

let this be a lesson in symbols….of all the little bubbles that wait to be lifted….circles and labyrinths and empty cups…..release and let go and ride like the wind….

There’s always a part of me that always wants to be filled, to feel good, to have life go well, and to not have any pain or discomfort. Yet, I know that a cup that is always full does not have room to receive. It does not have space to contain anything more than what it already has. Likewise, a cup that is never used or shared will grow stale and tasteless. The spiritual path is a constant cycle of emptying and filling, of dying and rising, of accepting and letting go. The full cup is repeatedly emptied so that it can be filled again and again. This emptying happens in many ways. Sometimes I choose to be emptied of my fullness when I get involved in a situation where someone’s life asks for a lot of my time and energy. This emptying can be draining, but it might also be rewarding and satisfying because I have a sense of truly giving to another. While the process of emptying may be painful, it can also be “growthful.” The empty times may feel useless, fruitless, and non-productive, but they are actually a means of our falling into the immense depths within ourselves where we see more clearly, learn to be less controlling, and touch life with greater reverence and gratitude……..Joyce Rupp

when we forget to listen

The same stream of life

that runs through my veins

night and day

runs through the world

and dances in rhythmic measures.

….Rabindranath Tagore