Sunday, March 27th, 2022
It’s Spring!! We’re just beginning to see the signs here in CO – one lone crocus has popped up in the backyard, daffodil and tulip leaves are poking through in the front, and the grass is again a mottled GREEN! It’s always an exciting time here at POH “Heartquarters” as we look forward to being together in the backyard for regular potlucks and other events amid the flower gardens, labyrinth, and meditation garden. It’s a time of awakening and new beginnings and we’re ready to Celebrate! Please join us at 11 a.m. this Sunday. Oh, and be sure to read the “Looking Ahead” section – Myles Sloniker will be in town in a few weeks and we’re going to do a family house concert to benefit our Paths of Heart Gatherings. We hope you can come!
Love, love, love,
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
“Keep the ground in mind, cultivate curiosity, be willing to be surprised, and stay grateful for what’s here now. My hope for all of us is that we never get so busy, or move so fast, or look so far ahead, that we miss the little things. They often turn out to be the big things anyway, don’t they? The hard ground is giving. The birds are filling the treetops with song and calling all sleepy flowers to rise and bloom and sing along. And so they will. So they do! Us, too.”
~ Tracy Grammer
“Spring is a sensuous teacher. Every year she steps out of the darkness and cold and seductively dances around us. She embraces us with her light and warmth. She intoxicates us with her fragrance. Like a potent elixir, spring revives our hope. She breathes life into death and teaches us the lessons of renewal and rebirth.”
~ Lucretia Schanfarber
Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest
Paths of Heart Schedule (Sundays, 11 a.m.)
With the county mask mandate now lifted, we will remain conscious of everyone’s comfort level regarding masks at our gatherings and will make a group decision week by week. The general consensus so far is folks are comfortable with others being unmasked, though some are choosing to wear their own masks, which you are always very welcome to do!
March 27th – in person
April 3rd – ZOOM gathering
Special Event – April 9th, 7 pm (doors at 6:30) – Paths of Heart House Concert with the Sloniker-Crosson Clan – These past 2 “Pandemic Years” were not particularly kind to the coffers of Paths of Heart, so we’ve decided to have a concert to give our non-profit a boost! Since space is limited, we are asking folks that’ll be attending to prepay, either on our website
https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ (with the word “Concert” in the note/message section), or through Colleen’s Venmo: @Colleen-Crosson
Suggested donation for the concert is $25 (more if you can, less if it just doesn’t fit in your budget!). Feel free to bring a beverage of choice. There will be no intermission but we’ll hang out a bit afterwards with some light snacks/finger foods which you are also welcome to bring/share. If you can’t come to the concert but would like to contribute anyway, we’ll give you 3 of our CDs (you pick!). We hope you will join us!
April 10th – in person
April 17th, Easter Sunday – in person, and we are fully intending to have a long-awaited-for POTLUCK after our gathering (hopefully outdoors!). We’ll also have some guest musicians TBA!
April 24th – in person
May 1st – ZOOM gathering
Request for guest presenters and musicians ~ Please let us know if you’re interested in sharing a topic or joining in the music! If you have ideas of other speakers/musicians you’d like to invite to Paths of Heart, we would love your suggestions. A small honorarium is available to these guest presenters.
Sending prayers and affirmations ~ If anyone would like 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!
Giving Opportunities – Paths of Heart continues (into its 9th year now!) almost entirely through your generous donations. What a beautiful thing! If you find value in what we do here each week, please consider donating to keep our non-profit running smoothly, with grace and ease. The past 2 years saw a severe drop in donations and we’d love to regrow our account balance to a more healthy and sustainable level now that we are meeting regularly again. During the pandemic, online donations became 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 for supporting the continuation of Paths of Heart!
Two ways you can further support Paths of Heart 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!
“Paths of Heart” Labyrinth and Zen Meditation Garden – 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 in the labyrinth to be slippery when wet, so it’s best to walk it on a dry day (not usually a problem in Colorado!). We also welcome volunteers to help keep our labyrinth looking beautiful and free of debris and weeds. Thank you in advance.
Gratitudes
We are so grateful for all the good folks bringing humanitarian aid to Ukraine at this time. Here is one link shared from a trusted friend with family in Poland, of an organization there which is helping Ukrainian refugees.
In addition, World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders are worthy organizations that would welcome our monetary support.
We are also grateful that Myles Sloniker is coming to CO for a short visit in April. Much music and family fun will ensue!
What are you grateful for today?
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”
~ Henri Frederic Amiel
“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher
“Going to sleep with a grateful, open heart
is a powerful healing practice. Your dreams will become more inspiring and you will awaken in the morning
with a lighter state of mind.”
~ Dr. John Demartini
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!
