Seasonal Shifts

March 30th, 2025

We turned the corner into Spring last week! It’s time to come out of hibernation, do a little spring cleanup and be inspired by nature’s awakening underneath the accumulated detritus. I returned from NJ a day ago and was greeted by fully unfurled daffodils, one of my favorite flowers! It gave me hope that somehow we will emerge from darker times to a new dawn. What are your favorite things about Spring and what lessons can Nature, in her infinite wisdom, teach us? We’re on ZOOM this Sunday and here’s the link. Hope you can join us!
Paths of Heart ZOOM Gathering
Time: Mar 30, 2025 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81986857728?pwd=5BJWLk7fabRHj2zEm17pZqbjiSWO2x.1
Meeting ID: 819 8685 7728

Passcode: 711995

May you blossom like the daffodils! Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
~ Leo Tolstoy

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.”

~ A.A. Milne

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
~ Anne Bradstreet

“People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.”
~ Ernest Hemingway

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.”
~ Virgil A. Kraft

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

 Sunday, March 30th – ZOOM Paths Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, April  5th – Our house concert with Pierce Pettis is just over a week away!  Many of you came to his concert last year where you witnessed a wild music jam with Pierce and Mark, ending with Pierce “smashing” his guitar! Yikes!  The good news is his guitar is fixed up, good as (Pierce says better than!) new, and we intend to have just as much fun (or more!) than last time. Concert starts at 7 pm (doors at 6:30) and we’ll have a finger food/snack potluck during intermission. Suggested donation is $20-25.  At this point there are still a number of seats left, but to guarantee your spot you can pre-pay with Paypal: https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ (with Pierce Pettis in the special instructions)
or with Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/PathsofHeart


Sunday, April 6th – In person Paths Gathering, 10:30 a.m. with guest musician Pierce Pettis.

Sunday, April 20th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart welcomes and appreciates your generous donations as we continue 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 as 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 for SPRING! A survey of the yard and gardens brings such delight, as new green shoots are making their way through the dirt. Walking the labyrinth is soothing to the soul on these warm days. What are you grateful for today?

What are you grateful for today?

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”
~ Nishan Panwar

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
~ Anthony Robbins

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
~ Maya Angelou

“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.”
~ Ralph H. Blum

“What I’ve learned is there’s a scientifically proven phenomenon that’s attached to gratitude, and that if you consciously take note of what is good in your life, quantifiable benefits happen.”
~ Deborah Norville

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

Love Remains

March 16th, 2025

This Sunday we’ll be talking about the power of love and how when you truly love someone, that love never dies, even though that person may no longer be with us in physical form. That is certainly the case with our friend and one of Paths of Heart’s original members, Bob Wells, who left this earthly plane peacefully on Feb. 12, 2025 at the age of 83. We’ll be celebrating his life during our gathering, as well as discussing love, loss, grief and the intermingling of these in all of our lives. 
Much love and light, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die”
~ Joseph Campbell

“You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly – that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
~ Anne Lamott

“For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.”
~ Khalil Gibran

“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
~ Havelock Ellis

“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.”
~ Jamie Anderson

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

 Sunday, March 16th – In person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.
“Love Remains” – This Sunday will include a Celebration of Life of one of our original Paths of Heart members, Bob Wells, who passed on 2/12/25. Please help spread the word to anyone you may know who would like to celebrate Bob’s life of service and love. A potluck will immediately follow our Gathering. In lieu of flowers, Bob requested donations be made to the Larimer County Humane Society, the Food Bank, and/or Paths of Heart.

Sunday, March 30th – ZOOM Paths Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, April  5th – We’ve scheduled our first “Paths of Heart Presents…” concert for the year with Pierce Pettis!  Many of you came to his concert last year where you witnessed a wild music jam with Pierce and Mark, ending with Pierce “smashing” his guitar! Yikes!  The good news is his guitar is fixed up, good as (Pierce says better than!) new, and we intend to have just as much fun (or more!) than last time. Concert starts at 7 pm (doors at 6:30) and we’ll have a finger food/snack potluck during intermission. Suggested donation is $20-25. 


Sunday, April 6th – In person Paths Gathering, 10:30 a.m. with guest musician Pierce Pettis.

Sunday, April 20th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart welcomes and appreciates your generous donations as we continue 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 as 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’ve been hearing more birds singing outside as spring draws nearer – a lovely, soothing sound. We got to see our birder friend, Dave recently, who took this wonderful photo, and he says the bluebirds are back! The natural world gives us hope that there is still much beauty in this confusing world.

What are you grateful for today?

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”
~ Nishan Panwar

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
~ Anthony Robbins

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
~ Maya Angelou

“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.”
~ Ralph H. Blum

“What I’ve learned is there’s a scientifically proven phenomenon that’s attached to gratitude, and that if you consciously take note of what is good in your life, quantifiable benefits happen.”
~ Deborah Norville

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