Dear Paths of Heart Community – As we write this on Sunday morning, we are missing you and what would traditionally be our day to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and share our rendition of James Taylor’s amazing song, “Shed a Little Light” with a host of other guest musicians. Here’s a link to James singing it for you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pRiRJOIWCM
Many of us are in the midst of choosing our “Word of the Year” to guide our thoughts and actions through the months ahead, so we thought the picture above might spur some ideas. Drop us a line if you care to share your chosen word – we love hearing from you!
We’ve decided to host a couple of Paths of Heart gatherings in February and hope you will join us! February 5th will be a ZOOM gathering. Here’s the link:
Topic: Paths of Heart ZOOM
Time: Feb 5, 2023 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87220354401?pwd=TXFPS1diNDBKSUhtWUEyTEJxRjM3dz09
Meeting ID: 872 2035 4401
Passcode: 251718
We’ll have an in-person gathering on February 12th at 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr. in Fort Collins.
And we hope you’ve got our upcoming house concert on your calendars for February 11th! There is a suggested love offering of $20 per person and we do appreciate RSVPs. If you’d like to donate in advance, you can do so with venmo: @PathsofHeart or paypal: https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ (mention “concert” in special instructions) or by sending a check to Paths of Heart at 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524. Thank you! The concert will start at 7 with a potluck of “finger foods” at 6 for those who’d like to come early and visit pre-concert.
Due to scheduling conflicts we need to change the date for our next Song Circle, which was supposed to be on February 28th. The only available Tuesday we have in February is Valentine’s Day, February 14th. We think that’d be a great night to sing songs of LOVE! Let us know if that might work for you. The Song Circle has had a slow re-start due to winter weather conditions, and we hope it will grow in the coming months.
We are so grateful for all your financial support this past year and are currently working on End of Year Tax Statements for your donations. In order to conserve resources (both money and trees!), we will be emailing these statements to you this year. Please let us know if you prefer a paper copy and we can mail that out to you. We are intending to have these to you by January 31st. If you need your info sooner, please reach out to us. Thank you!
Refer to the “Looking Ahead” section below for more details on all upcoming events. Looking forward to being with you soon!
With Gratitude, Love, and Light, Colleen and Mark
Quotes to ponder
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“New beginnings are in order, and you are bound to feel some level of excitement as new chances come your way.”
~ Oscar Auliq-Ice
“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest
Paths of Heart is in the midst of a “sabbatical” from regular Sunday gatherings. You can read more about our decision here: https://www.pathsofheart.org/2022/10/11/important-paths-of-heart-update/
As our financial situation improves, we hope to reintroduce Sunday gatherings, and in the meantime, we have planned many other events to keep our community engaged and thriving. See below and mark your calendars!
Sunday, February 5th – ZOOM Paths of Heart gathering, 10:30 a.m. We’ll send out a reminder with the link again that week.
Saturday, February 11th, 7 pm (“finger foods” potluck at 6) – “Paths of Heart Presents…” a Celebration of LOVE House Concert. Join Mark and Colleen in a lovefest of love songs to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Sunday, February 12th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins.
We’ve restarted our Paths of Heart Song Circles, usually the last Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 pm! Come join us for an informal gathering of singing together. Bring your life affirming song suggestions! $10 suggested donation. We will provide a variety of teas to drink.
January – no Song Circle
February 14th (date change due to scheduling conflict)
March 28th
April 25th
Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart will continue to welcome and appreciate your generous donations as we work to bolster our finances and get back to Sunday gatherings at some point in the future. During the pandemic, online donations became increasingly important to our organization, and are always gratefully accepted on our website, https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/. There is an option for recurring monthly donations, if you so choose. We have also added Venmo as a way to easily donate to Paths of Heart! Just type in @PathsofHeart to find us in the Venmo app. Thanks so much for supporting the continuation of Paths of Heart. Remember, we are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax deductible!
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!).
Gratitudes
We had a simple and quiet Christmas with family, enjoying one another’s company and sharing some fabulous meals. We sure hope you enjoyed your holidays, too! We are looking forward to this bright New Year, filled with promise. We take responsibility for making it so. 🙂
What are you grateful for today?
“Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual curiosity, and never stop learning.”
~ GZA
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
~ John F. Kennedy
“When I pray, I always thank Mother Nature for all the beauty in the world. It’s about having an attitude of gratitude.”
~ Miranda Kerr
“This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before.”
~ Maya Angelou
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!