“The Path of Freedom”
Sunday, July 11th, 2021
It’s great to be back in Colorado after a wonderful visit with Colleen’s Dad on the Jersey shore! We flew back on Independence Day, which has us thinking about freedom and what it means to us. Surely this last year gave us even more to ponder about when considering that sometimes loaded word. What is your perception of “freedom” and has it changed at all for you? This Sunday, Paths of Heart will be on Zoom at 11 a.m. Please RSVP to receive the link. We look forward to being with you!
Colleen and Mark
Quotes to ponder
“The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people….every day.”
~ David Foster Wallace
“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest
Paths of Heart Schedule (Sundays, 11 a.m.) :
July 11th ~ ZOOM gathering
July 18th ~ in person, indoors
July 25th ~ in person, indoors
August 1st ~ in person, indoors
August 8th ~ 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 positive thoughts and prayers on a Sunday morning, 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
We were grateful to have the opportunity to be with family and friends on the East Coast. Our travel experience was smooth, too, which were thankful for as well!
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!