“The Path of Surrender”
Sunday, June 13th, 2021
I love a freshly mowed and trimmed lawn and weeded and mulched gardens with defined edges. I bask in the beauty and order of it all. It’s one thing we can control in this chaotic world and it brings me such peace. In trying to reconcile a certain situation in my life that I have no control over, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Serenity Prayer. “God (Goddess, Universe, Papa, Great Spirit, whatever your Word is!), grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Such a simple and profound prayer, yet embodying it can sometimes be a challenge. It’s really all about surrender, and tending your own garden, so to speak, so that’s what we’ll focus on this Sunday. I’m hoping Mark will surrender to this topic as I didn’t give him a choice. Ha ha! He was very busy today and the newsletter was calling…
We are indoors, in-person this week and NO RSVP is required! We do still ask folks that are unvaccinated to continue wearing masks. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation as we continue to follow suggested CDC protocols. See ya Sunday,
Colleen and Mark
Quotes to ponder
“Sometimes, it’s not the times you decide to fight, but the times you decide to surrender, that makes all the difference.” Sissy Gavrilaki
“I am learning to live between effort and surrender. I do my best and hope for what I want but I do not resist the direction of the wind.” ~ Anonymous
“Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, a realm of power already within us. The world changes when we change. The world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world.” ~ Marianne Williamson
“When total surrender happens, suffering is removed; duality is removed, too.”
~ Mohanji
“Don’t look for peace. Don’t look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest
No RSVP is required to join us for our in-person, indoor Paths of Heart Gathering on Sunday, June 13th at 11 a.m. Hope to see ya!
Several weeks ago we decided that it’s time (and safe!) to move our gatherings indoors again. Several factors influenced our decision, including the amount of music equipment,chair, and general set up required to be outdoors, as well as the unpredictability of the weather (including wind, rain, and heat as we move into the summer months). Though we love the beauty of the backyard, we love that Mark can play the Steinway Grand inside and we have a lot less set-up involved each week! Thanks for your understanding. We do ask that unvaccinated folks continue to wear a mask while indoors.
We will continue offering ZOOM meetings once a month or so and are also discussing ways we can easily record our in-person gatherings so out of town folks can at least enjoy listening to them, even if they can’t be in on the discussions. Any suggestions or help in that area are most welcome!
Paths of Heart Schedule (Sundays, 11 a.m.) :
June 13th ~ In person, Inside
June 20th ~ In person, Inside
June 27th ~ No Paths of Heart Gathering
July 4th ~ No Paths of Heart Gathering
July 11th ~ ZOOM gathering
Request for guest presenters and musicians! ~ We’d love to get back to having members of our community (or the wider community) present a topic of their interest to our group and/or providing music or joining the “house band” on a Sunday! Please let us know if you’re interested or have ideas of other speakers/musicians you’d like to invite. A small honorarium is available.
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 past year when we weren’t meeting often, online donations became increasingly important to our organization, and are still 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 for supporting the continuation of Paths of Heart!
Gratitudes
Flowers, walks, bike rides, kayak paddling, all the summer things! And the returning of live music to all our great outdoor (and some indoor!) venues in Fort Collins! Life is GOOD!
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!