New Background

Can You Hear Me Now?

Sunday, April 09, 2006

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.

2 comments:

someone else said...

Thanks for posting this. Today the joy is an elusive thing to me. Maybe it will creep back in soon.

You really do post things that give me good stuff to think about.

kpjara said...

Right back at ya' Morning Glory!