Love Your Mother

Love Your Mother

Sunday, April 18th, 2021

No, it’s not quite Mother’s Day, but it IS almost Earth Day, and our Earth Mother seems to be crying out for some deep love and care these past many years. Have we been listening? What are some things we might do, however small or great, to increase our awareness and make significant changes in the way we care for our world? Please join our conversation this Sunday. As much as we wanted to be in the back garden to celebrate Earth Day, we will meet over Zoom at 11 a.m., as our Earth Mother is obviously thirsty and surrounding herself with rain, snow, and colder temperatures this week! Please RSVP if you’d like to join us (simply reply to this email) and we’ll send you the link on Saturday evening.
With gratitude and love,
Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Full presence is all that is required to experience direct connection with the natural world. It is not about control; it is about communication, resonance and exquisite sensitivity.” ~ Sara Wiseman

“God talks to us through many vectors — through each other, through great books, through the saints, through art and literature and music — but nowhere with such clarity and texture and richness and detail as through creation.” ~ Warren K. Anderson

“The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.” ~ John Paul II

“The proper use of science is not to conquer nature but to live in it.”
~ Barry Commoner

“We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do.” ~ Barbara Ward

“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” ~ Lady Bird Johnson

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Remember to RSVP if you’d like to join us for our ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering on Sunday, April 18th at 11 a.m.
As we move toward more in person gatherings, we plan on keeping a once a month ZOOM meeting, especially for those out of town folks who have so enjoyed the opportunity to join us from across the country (and the world!). It’s all kind of fluid right now ~ thanks for your understanding as we move toward some semblance of normalcy again! Please note we will not meet on 4/25 or 5/2 due to other commitments.

Sending “Good Juju” and prayer ~ If anyone ever wants to receive our collective positve thoughts and prayers on a Sunday morming, please ask! We can be as specific or as anonymous as you’d like. Let us know if we can surround you and your loved ones in love and light!

“Paths of Heart” Labyrinth – What a joy it was to envision and oversee the creation of our labyrinth and Zen Garden last summer! This was intentioned to be a community space, so know that you are always welcome to drop by and walk or sit – you do not need to let us know in advance. Do note that we have experienced the outer “halo” of glass blocks to be slippery when wet, so it’s best to walk it on a dry day!

Giving Opportunities – We wanted to remind you of two ways you can support Paths of Heart without costing you an extra penny. 🙂

King Soopers Community Rewards Program – if you shop at KS and have a rewards card, you can “link” it to Paths of Heart and King Soopers will donate a portion of your dollars spent (around 5%) to our non-profit. Go to https://www.kingsoopers.com/i/community/community-rewards to sign up and link your card. Our organization name is Paths of Heart and organization number is RG782. Let us know if you want help signing up!

Amazon Smile – We do love shopping locally and very often do, but Amazon sometimes fits the bill. If you are an Amazon shopper, you can make a difference by shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/81-4175487 to generate donations for Paths of Heart!

During this time when we have not been meeting in person, online donations have become increasingly important to our organization and are always gratefully accepted on our website, https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/. You can even sign up for monthly giving, which we deeply appreciate. Thanks so much!

Gratitudes

We were delighted to hold our first Paths of Heart outdoor gathering since last Fall on Easter Sunday! Thanks for sharing such a glorious Spring day with us and we look forward to more outdoor gatherings as the weather (and Covid-19) settles!

What are you grateful for today?

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” ~ Brene Brown

“Just an observation: it is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mindset tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up.” ~ Steve Maraboli

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” ~ Meister Eckhart

About Paths of Heart…

Paths of Heart is a high spirited, heart-centered community where we gather together (in new and creative ways!) for music, poetry, commentary, and dialogue to create and nurture joy, compassion, gratitude, and love – in our own lives and throughout the world. Paths of Heart is a 501(c)(3) Human Services/Educational non-profit organization that uses the arts, especially, to encourage and propel seekers of a better, more peaceful world to find ways to serve, while becoming more kind and compassionate human beings.

We welcome you as we collectively and individually explore the sweet mysteries of life – this is an invitation into co-creation!

Visit us on the web at https://www.pathsofheart.org
We hope our physical paths may cross soon!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

04/08/202104/09/2021

The Path of Forgiveness

The Path of Forgiveness

Sunday, April 11th, 2021

Please forgive me (says Colleen) for this late-ish newsletter. 🙂 That second shot hit me a little hard and I’ve been in bed most of the day. I sure hope to be more chipper tomorrow. The subject of forgiveness came across our desk several times this week and we realized it’s a pertinent topic for us personally these days, too. I think we are all more than a little weary of this “Covid life” and the marked changes it has brought to our lives in a myriad of ways. We may be spending way more time with loved ones in confined spaces than we are used to and learning things about our partners and children that may not strike us as…positive – ha ha! Tolerance and forgiveness is a wonderful thing – of ourselves as well as others when we “miss the mark”. Come join us in conversation and healing. Our gathering will be on Zoom this Sunday at 11 am. We’ll send a link out on Saturday night to all who have RSVPed (simply respond to this newsletter). In gratitude and love,
Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“The willingness to forgive is a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity. It is one of the great virtues to which we all should aspire. Imagine a world filled with individuals willing both to apologize and to accept an apology. Is there any problem that could not be solved among people who possessed the humility and largeness of spirit and soul to do either — or both — when needed?” ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” ~ Nelson Mandela

“Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart; one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” ~ Marvin J. Ashton

“…if anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will be the same again.” ~ Wm. Paul Young

“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” ~ Marianne Williamson

“I have learned, that the person I have to ask for forgiveness from the most is: myself. You must love yourself. You have to forgive yourself, everyday, whenever you remember a shortcoming, a flaw, you have to tell yourself “That’s just fine”. You have to forgive yourself so much, until you don’t even see those things anymore. Because that’s what love is like.” ~ C. JoyBell C.

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Remember to RSVP if you’d like to join us for our ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering on Sunday, April 11th at 11 a.m.
As we move toward more in person gatherings, we plan on keeping a once a month ZOOM meeting, especially for those out of town folks who have so enjoyed the opportunity to join us from across the country (and the world!). We’ll see if we can meet in person again on 4/18 if the weather is good. It’s all kind of fluid right now ~ thanks for your understanding as we move toward some semblance of normalcy again! Please note we will not meet on 4/25 or 5/2 due to other commitments.

Giving Opportunities – We wanted to remind you of two ways you can support Paths of Heart without costing you an extra penny. 🙂

Gratitudes

We were delighted to hold our first Paths of Heart outdoor gathering since last Fall on Easter Sunday! Thanks for sharing such a glorious Spring day with us!

What are you grateful for today?

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” ~ Brene Brown

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” ~ Meister Eckhart

About Paths of Heart…

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

04/01/202104/02/2021

The Joy of Spring’s Rebirth

The Joy of Spring’s Rebirth

Easter Sunday, April 4th

Well, the results are in and the weather forecast still looks delightful, so we will be having our first outdoor in-person gathering since last fall! Most folks leaned towards a later time to give those temps a chance to climb, so we’ll gather at 1 pm. We apologize to those that could only come at an earlier time – we hope to see you another time soon! Since many will have already eaten lunch or are planning a later afternoon Easter meal, we will forego our BYOBL for another time. You are of course welcome to hang out with us and chat for a bit afterwards, like always. We will still follow current Covid protocols: masks and distancing will be required as well as an RSVP so we can have the chairs set up ahead of time at the proper distance. We’ll focus on the joys of spring and the topic of rebirth and renewal. Hope to see you and Happy Easter everyone!
Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Springtime inspires us to believe that, along with the earth, we too might change, release the past, and give birth to new ideas…. Even though it happens this way every year, we stand in awe, our insides trembling sweetly like the legs of a new foal as we too are reborn. This is when we fall in love again, speak without thinking, say yes to things we would normally refuse. It becomes more difficult to say no when the whole world around us appears to be an astounding affirmation of the resilience, richness, and plain, perfect beauty of life. ” ~ Madisyn Taylor

“A miracle is often the willingness to see the common in an uncommon way.”
~ Noah Benshea

“I personally don’t care if Jesus was born on Dec. 25th or if he really died and was resurrected as a historical figure at Eastertime. It’s the spirit of rebirth, of continual life, of the love and message of Jesus that means more than whether any of this is historically true or not. If it is for you, God bless you, and if it’s not, God bless you, or Buddha bless you, or Bubba bless you, or whatever…If someone else celebrates something different than you, celebrate their joy in living, however it’s expressed.”
~ Spiritsong

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Remember to RSVP if you’d like to join us for our backyard Paths of Heart Gathering on Sunday, April 4th at 1 p.m. Please wear your mask and maintain appropriate distancing.
As we move toward more in person gatherings, we plan on keeping a once a month ZOOM meeting, especially for those out of town folks who have so enjoyed the opportunity to join us from across the country (and the world!). Our next ZOOM gathering will be next Sunday, 4/11, and then we’ll see if we can meet in person again on 4/18. It’s all kind of fluid right now ~ thanks for your understanding as we move toward some semblance of normalcy again! Please note we will not meet on 4/25 or 5/2 due to other commitments.

Giving Opportunities – We wanted to remind you of two ways you can support Paths of Heart without costing you an extra penny. 🙂

Gratitudes

We are grateful and delighted to see the earth greening up and the colorful spring bulbs popping up everywhere! That big wet snow worked wonders!

What are you grateful for today?

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” ~ Brene Brown

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” ~ Meister Eckhart