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.
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!
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!