July 30th, 2023
I came across this Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem earlier this week:
“So many gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
While just the art of being kind
Is all the sad world needs. “
We love that Paths of Heart honors all paths in the spiritual journey and we agree, kindness is of utmost importance along the way. We often quote the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet who said, “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” We’ll expound on these thoughts in our Paths of Heart ZOOM gathering this Sunday. We’d love for you to join in the conversation! Here’s the link:
Topic: Paths of Heart Zoom Gathering
Time: Jul 30, 2023 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87452696558?pwd=eFdWMFA3d0x2ajVQRTNUV25kWTlqZz09
Meeting ID: 874 5269 6558
Passcode: 696359
Kindly, Colleen and Mark
Quotes to ponder
Life’s all about choices. Everyone’s destination is the same; only the paths are different.”
~ Sushmita Sen
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
~ Aesop
“Faith is a continuum, and we each fall on that line where we may. By attempting to rigidly classify ethereal concepts like faith, we end up debating semantics to the point where we entirely miss the obvious – that is, that we are all trying to decipher life’s big mysteries, and we’re each following our own paths of enlightenment.”
~ Dan Brown
“It takes courage to be kind.”
~ Maya Angelou
“If we are asking for the world to be kind, we must first ask what are we doing to add more kindness to the world. If we are asking for the world to be more loving, we must first ask what are we doing to add more love to the world. We are the vessels for the things we seek.”
~ Joél Leon
“When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.”
~ Abraham Joshua Heschel
Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest
Sunday, July 30th, 10:30 a.m. – ZOOM POH Gathering
Friday, August 4th – 7 p.m. concert with Megan Bee (potluck at 6). More details below in “Paths of Heart Presents…”
Sunday, August 6th, 10:30 a.m. – In person POH Gathering with a potluck afterwards
Tuesday, August 15th, 7 p.m. – Paths of Heart Song Circle
Sunday, August 20th, 10:30 a.m.- ZOOM POH Gathering
Sunday, September 10th, 10:30 a.m. – In person POH Gathering
Sunday, September 17th, 10:30 a.m. – In person POH Gathering with a potluck afterwards
Sunday, September 24th, 10:30 a.m. – ZOOM POH Gathering
Tuesday, September 26th, 7 p.m. – Paths of Heart Song Circle
Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!
Guest Presenters and Musicians Wanted! Now that we’re meeting on a more regular basis we’d love to get back to having other folks present a topic on some Sundays and having other musicians sit in as well. Please get in touch if you’re interested! A small honorarium is available.
“Paths of Heart Presents…” We have one more scheduled house concert (Megan Bee!!) on the horizon for all music lovers who enjoy an intimate listening room and a chance to meet the artists and chat in an informal setting. Help us spread the word! You may pre-pay for any of our concerts on our regular donation page https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ OR with Venmo @PathsofHeart. Though tickets may be available at the door, pre-paying is the only way to guarantee your seat so it’s highly suggested! Please indicate which concert you are paying for in the special instructions or memo line. Hope to see you!
Friday, August 4th 7 p.m. concert with potluck at 6 – Megan Bee, our friend and songwriter artist from Athens, OH. This will be Megan’s 3rd appearance in our house concert series! $20 suggested donation. Learn more about Megan at https://meganbeemusic.com/
Please mark your calendars for these awesome shows and tell your friends!!
We’ve restarted our Paths of Heart Song Circles, usually the last Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 pm. Come join us for group singing in an informal and safe space. You are welcome to bring an instrument and song suggestions of love, life, and peace especially! $5.00-10.00 suggested donation. We will provide a variety of teas to drink. You are welcome to bring other beverages of choice. Please RSVP at least a day or two in advance! Since attendance has been rather inconsistent of late, we’d like the opportunity to make alternate plans if sign-up is light. We had another small but delightful circle this past Tuesday – thanks to those who made it!
The following dates have been scheduled:
August 15th (3rd Tuesday due to scheduling conflict)
September 26th
Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart continues to welcome and appreciate your generous donations as we work to bolster our finances and return to regular Sunday gatherings. 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 an easy way to 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!
Another easy way to further support Paths of Heart is through the 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! This one small gesture (by just 25 or so families at this point) helps to generate over $1,000 a year for Paths of Heart, so we appreciate your consideration in participating in this valuable program!!
“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. We DO love all this rain, but we hope the weather will be more labyrinth-friendly soon!
Gratitudes
We’ve had some really meaningful musical experiences lately and more coming up in the next few weeks and months. What a joy it is to make music with family and friends and to share that with you all in different settings – house concerts, Celebrations of Life, birthday parties, weddings, music lessons. Life is good!
What are you grateful for today?
“When gratitude becomes an essential foundation in our lives, miracles start to appear everywhere.”
~ Emmanuel Dagher
“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
~ Tony Robbins
“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”
~ Robert Holden
“If you keep searching for everything beautiful in the world, you will eventually become it.”
~ Tyler Kent White
“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.”
~ Eileen Caddy
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!