Weathering Our Storms with Gratitude
Sunday, May 16th, 2021
What a wild Spring we are having here in Colorado, eh? We are definitely ready for the crazy “winter” storms to subside and sometimes I can get a little cranky about it. And yet, when we took a walk around the yard yesterday and drank in all the splashes of color against that green, green, GREEN everywhere, we were again overwhelmed with gratitude. As in life, sometimes we need those storms to get to the “good stuff”, even though we may feel heartache and have a bit of damage clean-up to do. It feels like we’re finally coming out of the Covid storm, too and we’re feeling giddy about seeing people’s faces and hugging again! Come share your gratitude stories with us in the Paths of Heart backyard this Sunday at 11 a.m. The weather forecast looks favorable (enough) so far, though it’d be wise to dress in layers. Please RSVP if you’d like to join us (simply reply to this email) as we will still be distancing our seating. We will, however, be allowing those that are FULLY vaccinated (at least 2 weeks since 2nd vaccine) to remain unmasked if they wish. Looking forward to seeing you,
Colleen and Mark
Quotes to ponder
“Sometimes the greatest storms bring out the greatest beauty…Life can be a storm, but your hope is a rainbow and your friends and family are the gold.”
~ Steve Maraboli
“Every flower must grow through dirt.” ~ Laurie Sennott
“Don’t wait for the storms of your life to pass. Learn to dance in the rain.” ~ Steve Rizzo
“I’m thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” ~ Alex Elle
“Storms don’t come to teach us painful lessons, rather they were meant to wash us clean.” ~ Shannon L. Alder
Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest
Remember to RSVP if you’d like to join us for our in person Paths of Heart Gathering on Sunday, May 16th at 11 a.m. We still need a head count to arrange seating ahead of time.Thanks!
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! We hope to meet in person again in the Paths of Heart backyard on May 23rd and 30th. Our next Zoom Gathering is scheduled for June 6th. Plans are of course always subject to change. 🙂
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! We also welcome volunteers to help keep our labyrinth looking beautiful and free of debris and weeds. Thank you in advance.
Giving Opportunities – Two ways you can support Paths of Heart without costing you an extra penny are detailed below:
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 much, 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
Flowers and greening up everywhere we look! A new refrigerator. Almost finished with tax returns! Less mask wearing!
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!