International Day of Friendship

July 28th, 2024

We learned this week (thanks, Rev Scott!) that the International Day of Friendship is July 30th, a day dedicated to celebrating and appreciating friendships worldwide. More importantly, it aims to promote understanding, tolerance, and inclusiveness among different nationalities, communities, and cultures, and to promote a Culture of Peace. “Our world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division – such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses – among many others – that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world’s peoples.
To confront those crises and challenges, their root causes must be addressed by promoting and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms – the simplest of which is friendship.” ~ UN.org
What a beautiful thing and something worth celebrating! Join us on ZOOM this week as we delve into this initiative even further. Here’s the link:

Paths of Heart Zoom
Time: Jul 28, 2024 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81672051307?pwd=ubrun5vOhFEME9gizSjuMvFaa1So49.1
Meeting ID: 816 7205 1307
Passcode: 666506

In friendship, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“If we will listen to the heartbeat of another, we will hear the great rhythm of the Universe resounding in us. Through our friends the Infinite speaks a divine language.”
~ Ernest Holmes

“Friend, our closeness is this: anywhere you put your foot, feel me in the firmness under you.”
~ Rumi

“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.”
~ William Butler Yeats

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.”

~ Rumi

“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
~ Abraham Lincoln

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, July 28th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 4th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 11th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 18th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. with Community Potluck afterwards

Sunday, August 25th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, September 1st – In person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, September 8th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

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.

Gratitudes

We are grateful that with Colleen’s recovery, we’re able to get out and about more and enjoy the things we love – music, friends, family, food, camping! We get to see Myles again as he’ll be doing another Colorado tour soon.

What are you grateful for today?

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
~ Willie Nelson

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”
~ Meister Eckhart

“Gratitude is the sweetest thing in a seekers life – in all human life. If there is gratitude in your heart, then there will be tremendous sweetness in your eyes.”
~ Sri Chinmoy

“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.”
~ Eckhart Tolle

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!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

My ‘Word of the Year’ was “Patience”…

July 21st, 2024

…but I realized 2 days ago that I’d forgotten all about it while in the throes of recovery from my hip surgery! I’d been having a rough go of it and had actually mentioned the word frequently over the last week – “I need to be patient with my body and myself…”, etc., but the fact that I had chosen that word to guide me throughout the year was lost to me for a time. Having that realization and thinking back on the intention and process I used in choosing that word has suddenly made my recovery a more positive process! Since we’re halfway through this year (!!), we thought it’d be fun to revisit our words of the year (if you participate in that exercise) and see if they’ve brought any revelations or changes to your lives. Even if you don’t personally have a particular guiding word, it’s always interesting to hear others’ choices and perspectives. And if nothing else, we can talk about…Patience! We hear it’s quite the virtue…
Please stay afterwards for our community potluck in the backyard (it’s supposed to be cooler weather?). Bring a favorite dish to share and your own reusable plate please. We’ll provide utensils, cups, cloth napkins and a variety of beverages.
Inch by Inch (still applies from last week!), Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“A word of the year is a single word you choose that can guide you through your year and be a north star to come back to when you might feel like you’re faltering from your goals or values. It can be something that feels empowering, comforting, or even a little daring.”
~ goodgoodgood.co

“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!'”
~ Audrey Hepburn

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
~ Michael Altshuler

“You make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. You draw your own box.”
~ Duchess Meghan

“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”
~ Michelle Obama

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
~ A.A. Milne

Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.”
~ Roy T. Bennett

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)


Sunday, July 21st – In Person POH Gathering, 10:30 a.m. 
with Community Potluck afterwards.

Sunday, July 28th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 4th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 11th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 18th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. with Community Potluck afterwards

Sunday, August 25th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

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.

Gratitudes

Gratitude remains for friends and family stepping in to do household and garden chores during Colleen’s recovery. Thanks also for the cards, calls, texts, and emails of love, encouragement, and support. We are also OVERWHELMINGLY GRATEFUL to several folks who stepped up to make significant monetary contributions to Paths of Heart in our time of need! We are again solvent, though we will still need to explore more steady and permanent fixes to this ongoing challenge if we are to continue our passionate work in the coming years. Thank you all for whatever support you can give and have given in the past.

What are you grateful for today?

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
~ Willie Nelson

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”
~ Meister Eckhart

“Gratitude is the sweetest thing in a seekers life – in all human life. If there is gratitude in your heart, then there will be tremendous sweetness in your eyes.”
~ Sri Chinmoy

“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.”
~ Eckhart Tolle

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!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

Lessons From the Garden

July 14th, 2024

Even though we are not tending a vegetable garden this year, there is still plenty to do around the yard and flower beds, and our CSA’s newsletter has me excited for all the varied produce bursting forth for us to enjoy. We are definitely in the height of “growing season” and as usual, we can draw lovely parallels between our gardens and other areas of our lives. That’s the theme for this week – we hope you’ll join us!
Inch by Inch, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.”
~ George Bernard Shaw

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.”
~ May Sarton

“Gardening makes sense in a senseless world. By extension, then, the more gardens in the world, the more justice, the more sense is created.”
~ Andrew Weil

“What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.”
~ Meister Eckhart

“My mind is a garden. My thoughts are the seeds. My harvest will be either flower or weeds.”
~ Mel Weldon

“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.”
~ Gertrude Jekyll

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, July 14th – In Person POH Gathering, 10:30 a.m. 

Sunday, July 21st – In Person POH Gathering, 10:30 a.m. 
with Community Potluck afterwards.

Sunday, July 28th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 4th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 11th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 18th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. with Community Potluck afterwards

Sunday, August 25th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

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.

Gratitudes

We continue to be grateful for Colleen’s recovery – at times it feels slow, but we’re feeling progress!
We are grateful for friends and family stepping in to do household and garden chores during this time. We are also OVERWHELMINGLY GRATEFUL to several folks who stepped up to make significant monetary contributions to Paths of Heart in our time of need! We are again solvent, though we will still need to explore more steady and permanent fixes to this ongoing challenge if we are to continue our passionate work in the coming years. Thank you all for whatever support you can give and have given in the past.

What are you grateful for today?

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
~ Willie Nelson

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”
~ Meister Eckhart

“Gratitude is the sweetest thing in a seekers life – in all human life. If there is gratitude in your heart, then there will be tremendous sweetness in your eyes.”
~ Sri Chinmoy

“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.”
~ Eckhart Tolle

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!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

Finding Our Freedom

July 7th, 2024

As I sit to write this newsletter on July 4th, I’m having mixed feelings about what to celebrate. Certainly our country has fared better than many in its quest for democracy and equality in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, the current chaos in our beautiful country has me searching for deeper meanings of freedom. Most times, the freedoms we create and recognize in our personal lives, our loving communities, and in nature are what will nurture and sustain us through troubling times. We’ve read some remarkable essays and blogs over the last few days and will share some of their wisdom. Of course we also want to hear from you and how you define and find freedom in your lives. We’re scheduled to be on ZOOM this week and the link is below. Recovery from surgery has had its ups and downs, so we are reserving the choice to cancel should it not feel prudent to meet with you all on Sunday. Thanks for your understanding!
Holding Space, Colleen and Mark

Paths of Heart ZOOM
Time: Jul 7, 2024 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81323458338?pwd=WdrEj8xbd4Ehb2fjC5jJ2iErXTtCb5.1

Meeting ID: 813 2345 8338
Passcode: 478664

Quotes to ponder

“Your choices are your only freedom.”
~ Lailah Gifty Akita

“True freedom is always spiritual. It has something to do with your innermost being, which cannot be chained, handcuffed, or put into a jail.”
~ Osho

“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

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
~ Albert Camus

“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.”
~ Jean-Paul Sartre

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein

“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

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, July 7th – ZOOM POH Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, July 14th – In Person POH Gathering, 10:30 a.m. 

Sunday, July 21st – In Person POH Gathering, 10:30 a.m. 
with Community Potluck afterwards.

Sunday, July 28th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 4th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 11th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, August 18th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. with Community Potluck afterwards

Sunday, August 25th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

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.

Gratitudes

We are so grateful to Colleen’s entire surgery team for their excellent skill and care. Recovery is happening, slow and steady!
We are grateful for friends and family stepping in to do household and garden chores during this time. We are also OVERWHELMINGLY GRATEFUL to several folks who stepped up to make significant monetary contributions to Paths of Heart in our time of need! We are again solvent, though we will still need to explore more steady and permanent fixes to this ongoing challenge if we are to continue our passionate work in the coming years. Thank you all for whatever support you can give and have given in the past.

What are you grateful for today?

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
~ Willie Nelson

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”
~ Meister Eckhart

“Gratitude is the sweetest thing in a seekers life – in all human life. If there is gratitude in your heart, then there will be tremendous sweetness in your eyes.”
~ Sri Chinmoy

“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.”
~ Eckhart Tolle

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!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl