What is your thread?*
William Sieghart

Life is an expression of bliss.**
Joseph Campbell

Thread is William Stafford‘s word for
bliss, and bliss is Joseph Campbell’s word for
the thing we must do, our “all-important,” so that,
If we tried to remove it, we’d be tearing away
the very core of our being.

There are plenty of things in life that
can demand or distract our attention, or connection
to the thread, especially
when the going gets tough – this is when our
daily rituals and practices that embody our thread
come to our aid, so never forget to
go to your rituals.

*William Sieghart’s The Poetry Pharmacy;
**Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey.

[Good’s] existence is the unmistakable sign that we are spirit creatures, attracted by excellence and made for the good.*
Iris Murdoch

*Iris Murdoch’s The Sovereignty of Good.

The very moments that make us go “wow!” are the very same moments that can change our lives.*
Jonah Paquette

*Jonah Paquette’s Awestruck.

we propose we need not time management but timelessness*
Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber

I wish you a merry and a
slowsome Christmas –
Maybe with some doodling –
Which derives from dawdling.

*Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber’s The Slow Professor.

We are the dawning of the universe upon itself.*
Rebecca Elson

May you recognise in your life the presence,
Power and light of your soul …
May you have respect for your individuality and soul.**
John O’Donohue

The final episode of Brian Cox‘s series
Solar Systems identifies many strange planets, the strangest being,
Quite rightly, our own, a green and blue wonderworld teeming with life,
And perhaps the strangest life of all is
you and me, with all our
consciousness going on,
Splendidly self-conscious and other-conscious,
Nature-conscious and universe-conscious –
To be delighted in and deeply pondered.

It always comes back to silence for me.  Taking myself to silence.  Inviting others to silence.  Frequently.  Quiet our busy minds.  Set aside our relentless chatter. Just be quiet.  And then do something.  And then get quiet again.^

*Rebecca Elson’s A Responsibility to Awe;
**John O’Donohue’s Benedictus: For Solitude;
^Bob Stilger, from Brandy Agerbeck and Kelly Bird’s (editors) Drawn Together Through Visual Practice.

all life on earth is ultimately made possible by dissipative structures that capture chaos and shape it into more complex order*
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

*Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow.

Context is what gives meaning.  When you change the context you change yourself.  This is where freedom lies.*
Ben Hardy

*Ben Hardy’s essay: These 20 Pictures Will Teach You More Than Reading 100 Books.

If we go down to ourselves, we find that we possess
exactly what we desire.*
Simone Weil

*John O’Donohue’s Divine Beauty.

It turns out that acute angles, rough edges and the imperfect matches of diversity actually make things work better. Especially when we’re dealing with humans.*
Seth Godin

This drive for equilibrium becomes the character’s super objective.**
Robert McKee

Apparently, we enter
the state of flow when we are four per cent beyond
our familiar and comfortable;
We may desire equilibrium, but
it isn’t where we do our best work and, perhaps,
Living.

*Seth Godin’s blog: Cobbled together;
**Robert McKee’s Character.

A myth was an event which, in some sense, had happened once, but also which happened all the time.*
Jean Houston

Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief – almost momentary – the part marked for you. Think of the working of fate and how infinitesimal your role.**
Marcus Aurelius

The myth we forge for ourselves is not
the telling of some achievement in our past, rather,
For myths to do what myths do best –
the exploration of life-in-all-its-fullness for the sake of others –
They must serve us each day in an unfolding way;
For this it must contain scale –
An honest understanding of who we are and what we can do –
And an embracing of our imperfection –
We are limited, but that is part of the challenge and
the adventure –
We can’t do everything, but
this provides us with focus for our
energy, resulting in mastery and
satisfaction and fulfilment.

If all people were perfect, then every individual would be replaceable by anyone else. From the very imperfection of people follows the indispensability and inexchangeability of each individual; for each is imperfect in their own fashion. No one is universally gifted; but the bias of the individual makes for their uniqueness.^

*Jean Houston’s A Mythic Life;
**Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic;
^Viktor Frankl’s The Doctor and the Soul; I have altered the gender to be more inclusive – words in italics).