A New Perspective

I have a book that a dear friend of mine bought almost 20 years ago. I took it from him during one of our many moves. I keep it on my shelf and every once in awhile when I have creative block or when I just feel on the verge of tears and need to allow myself the permission let them fall...I re-read portions of it.

Today I am going to share from this book because it has been pivotal in who I am...in how God has created me. The book is called;"The Book of Qualities" by J. Ruth Gendler.

Today I will share two entries:

Courage

Courage has roots.

She sleeps on a futon on the floor

and lives close to the ground.

Courage looks you straight in the eye.

She is not impressed with powertrippers,

and she knows first aid.

Courage is not afraid to pray,

even when she is not sure who

she is praying to. When Courage walks,

it is clear that she has made the journey

from loneliness to solitude. The people

who told me she is stern were not lying;

they just forgot to

mention that she

is kind.

Joy

Joy drinks pure water. She has sat with the dying and

attended many births. She denies nothing. She is in love

with life, all of it, the sun and the rain and the

rainbow. She rides horses at Half Moon Bay under the October moon.

She climbs mountains. She sings in the hills. She jumps from

the hot spring to the cold stream without hesitation.

Although Joy is spontaneous, she is immensely patient.

She does not need to rush.

She knows that there are obstacles on every

path and that every moment is the perfect moment. She is

not concerned with success or failure or how to make things

permanent.

At times Joy is elusive -- she seems to disappear

even as we approach her. I see her standing on a ridge

covered with oak trees, and suddenly the distance

between us feels enormous. I am overwhelmed and

wonder if the effort to reach her is worth it. Yet,

she waits for us. Her desire to walk with us is as great as

our longing to accompany her.

I love these short 'descriptions' of many of our qualities. This author has a way of bringing to "life", literally everything from Jealousy and Uncertainty to Faith and Imagination. If you ever have the opportunity to read the whole thing, I would encourage you to do just that. This is more then a book, it is a journey through our many faces and our many moods.

Has a truly Blessed Sunday.