Part of my daily morning practice involves reading just a small section (one page, one poem, one paragraph) in a variety of books intended to speak to my spirit. I usually keep a couple of poetry books going, a Buddhist book, a UU book and some sort of generic spiritual book. Currently in my morning reading basket are;
POETRY OF PRESENCE edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai. A collection of contemporary poetry
ALL THE PIECES FIT by Jekaren Olaoya – a book of collage and poetry by a UU poet
REAL CHANGE BY Sharon Salzburg – a collection of essays by a Buddhist writer.
ALL THE HONEY – by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. A contemporary feminist poet
IN THE SHELTER by Padraig O’Tuama, essays by an Irish Catholic, progressive gay writer
And an unpublished collection of Atheist prayers.
As I read, if there is a sentence or phrase that means something to me, I write it into a book that I keep just for that purpose. I date each entry and every day I look back to see what I copied down a year ago on the same date.
Here’s a sampling of things I’ve copied down of late;
No-one knows how bad you are better than yourself. ~Michael Tilson-Thomas
Desires are the messengers of our unlived lives. ~John O’Donohue
Stir yourself with laughter and drink that. ~Chelan Harken
Practice listening to “yes”. ~Andrea Gibson
Hold anger like a baby. ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Say “yes” to the world as it is. ~Joy Sharp
Think of it as “Self-nourished happiness” instead of being “selfish” – Sharon Salzburg
To harden will help us get through life, but to soften will let us experience life. ~Mark Nepo
Compassion doesn’t mean we don’t fight, it means we don’t hate. ~Sharon Salzburg
Tears are salt-water solutions to whatever is going on. ~Barbara McAfee
Having too many preferences is how we build a wall so high no one can climb it. ~M. Nepo