Lighting the Way with Courage, Faith, and Resilience

November 17th, 2024

This has been quite a week and we’ve heard from many people who are grieving, angry, fearful, and more. We hear you, we see you, and we validate all the emotions you may be feeling at this tender time. We’ve relied on family, friends, and community to help process the unfolding circumstances in our beloved country, and have read amazing, heartfelt writings and songs to comfort and guide us as well. As our songwriter friend Carrie Newcomer sings, “We can do this hard thing…”
We’ll explore together some valuable, positive, human qualities we can embody during any and all difficult and uncertain times.
Holding you in love, light, and peace, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times…Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do. There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate…”
~ Clarissa Pinkole Estes

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
~ Chuck Swindoll

“It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.”
~ Doe Zantamata

“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”
~ Carlos Costaneda

“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.”
~ Roy T. Bennett

“My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. And they bring to mind something else, too. They remind me that the damage life has inflicted on me has, in many places, left me stronger and more resilient. What hurt me in the past has actually made me better equipped to face the present.”
~ Steve Goodier

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
~ Albert Camus

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

In the midst of Paths of Heart’s financial uncertainty, some generous souls have come forward to take us through the end of this year and a bit into the next. We are SO grateful! AND we really can’t continue to operate in this month to month fashion, so we still have some brainstorming to do, folks. Any suggestions from our regular participants on how to move forward in securing a bright future for Paths of Heart are always most welcome! The Gratitude Concert we thought might happen has been supplanted by another music opportunity for us that same weekend, so we’ll look forward to our Christmas Eve concert instead. We hope you’ll join us for our special annual event on December 24th! More details to come.

Sunday, November 17th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, December 1st – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, December 15th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, December 24th – Annual Christmas Eve concert with the Crosson/Sloniker family and perhaps some special guests. More details forthcoming!

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 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 the love and inspiration of our friends and family who have carried us through this past week. Special thanks to my RAK sisters and COL Mighty Companions!

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

10/30/202410/30/2024

Keep Calm and…

November 3rd, 2024

(insert your suggestions here!). The entire country is pretty amped up right now awaiting next week’s “results” and wouldn’t it be wise to just take some deep breaths and perhaps consider that everything is always in Divine Order in the Grand Scheme of Things? That’s my belief anyway, even as I can contort myself into quite a stir in my human-ness and ego-driven rationales. Hooo boy! Hold on for the ride! We are doing our best to keep kindness, consideration, open-heartedness, empathy, and LOVE in the equation. We’re on ZOOM this Sunday and it is also the end of Daylight Saving Time, so remember to set your clocks BACK one hour before we meet. 🙂 Here’s the link:
Paths of Heart Zoom Gathering
Time: Nov 3, 2024 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89428322058?pwd=py6B95bwbX77ajiUX428AvrIu3bpbS.1

Meeting ID: 894 2832 2058
Passcode: 655239

In peace, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”
~ Buddha

“More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.”
~ Roy T. Bennett

“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.”
~ Pema Chodron

“Win or lose, just stay calm.”
~ Mirko Cro Cop

“There can be no peace without but through peace within.”
~ W.E. Channing

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
~ Maya Angelou

“Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it.”
~ Brian Tracey

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Paths of Heart is experiencing another
period of financial uncertainty where our income/donations are not meeting our expenses. Therefore, it’s difficult for us to determine how
far ahead we might schedule gatherings or even if it’s wise to do so at all. In light of this, we’re adding just one more gathering after this Sunday (which may or may not happen). We’ll just have to see how things go. We are contemplating a Gratitude Concert for sometime later this month as well and will keep you posted on that. Any suggestions from our regular participants on how to move forward are always most welcome!

Sunday, November 3rd – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. Daylight Saving Time ends!

Sunday, November 10th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, November 17th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

Gratitudes

We are grateful that our current construction project is nearly finished! That should be it for a good long while… 🙂

Colleen looks forward to another visit with her Dad and siblings coming up soon.

Mark is grateful for friends, family, and health!

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…

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

10/11/202410/11/2024

The Heart of Forgiveness

October 13th, 2024

Paths of Heart is not a religious community, however we often explore different traditions, rituals, beliefs, and holidays associated with the world’s religions, in search of universal truths. With the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur on the horizon, we’ve been thinking about forgiveness and the various ways it may be expressed. We are blessed that Myles and Emma Sloniker will join us for music this Sunday morning! We’ll be having perhaps our last outdoor potluck of the season so we hope you’ll join us for conversation and noshing (a word I learned from our dear friend Rabbi Jack many years ago!).

Ho’oponopono, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“How free do we want to be? Forgiveness is NOT ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON AND WHAT THEY SAID OR DID. Forgiveness is what takes place within US. UNFORGIVENESS IS HOW WE HOLD ON and don’t allow ourselves our own freedom.”
~ June Miller

“True forgiveness is when you can say, “Thank you for that experience.”
~ Oprah Winfrey

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim–letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor.”
~ C.R. Strahan

“The willingness to forgive is a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity. It is one of the great virtues to which we all should aspire. Imagine a world filled with individuals willing both to apologize and to accept an apology. Is there any problem that could not be solved among people who possessed the humility and largeness of spirit and soul to do either — or both — when needed?”
~ Gordon B. Hinckley

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, October 13th – in person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. Special Music with Myles and Emma Sloniker. Potluck following.

Sunday, October 20th – No Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, October 27th – No Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, November 3rd – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. Daylight Saving Time ends!

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

Gratitudes

We always look forward to the times when our whole family can be together. We are excited and grateful to have Myles Sloniker flying in from NY to be with us for a week. Blessed family time!

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…

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

10/04/202410/04/2024

Lessons From the Sea

October 6th, 2024

We have just returned from a week in Oregon, with half our time spent along the wild and wonderful coastline of Yachats and half spent at a music festival in the high desert town of Sisters. The ocean was so powerfully mesmerizing (we watched it for hours!) and so much can be gleaned from its ever changing presence. The sea can be an apt metaphor for the human experience – sometimes calm, soothing, and peaceful, sometimes turbulent, chaotic, and overwhelming. This Sunday we’ll explore some lessons from the sea on ZOOM. Here’s the link:

Topic: Paths of Heart Zoom Gathering
Time: Oct 6, 2024 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81654312412?pwd=dq8Yjbi8821S4U5o8yIbn3Zyc3tatH.1

Meeting ID: 816 5431 2412
Passcode: 018101

So much magnificence, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“The cure for anything is saltwater: sweat, tears or the sea.”
~ Karen Blixen

“Sometimes in the waves of change we find our true direction.”
~ unknown

“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.”
~ Robert Wyland

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.”
~ Vincent Van Gogh

“We ourselves feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
~ Mother Teresa

“Dance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.”
~ Christy Ann Martine

“If the ocean can calm itself, so can you. We are both salt water mixed with air.”
~ Nayyirah Waheed

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, October 6th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, October 13th – in person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. Special Music with Myles and Emma Sloniker. Potluck following.

Sunday, October 20th – No Paths of Heart Gathering

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

Gratitudes

We are blessed to be able to take time off to travel now and again. We had such a restful and music-filled time on our recent trip to Oregon. Gratitude abounds!

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…

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

09/13/202409/13/2024

The Art of Balance

September 15th, 2024

We were hiking in Smith Rock State Park in Redmond, OR last fall when we looked up and saw this sight – there were people slacklining between sheer cliffs hundreds of feet in the air!! Talk about a balancing act! It was quite mesmerizing to watch. Since we won’t be meeting on September 22nd, the first day of fall, we thought we’d talk about the Autumnal Equinox a little early and explore the exquisite art of balance in our lives. We’ll also have a potluck directly after our gathering in the backyard – the weather forecast looks quite nice! Join us, won’t you?

Falling for fall, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

A balanced lifestyle is simply a state of being, in which one has time and energy for obligations and pleasures.
~ Madisyn Taylor

The cycles of nature guide our lives and their wisdom can be our wisdom too. We often forget that our body is part of the body of the universe and so when we reference, integrate and live the movements of the cosmos within our own selves, our lives too take on the same natural flow.
~ Kristina Dryža (Dree-zha)

“The dance between darkness and light will always remain— the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness will just not be worth having without the moon and the stars.”
~ C. JoyBell C.

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
~ Lauren DeStefano

“There comes a time when autumn asks,
“What have you been doing all summer?”
~ (unknown)

“The art of living lies in balancing the acts of life”
~ B.S. Murthy

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, September 15th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. Community Potluck following. Bring bring some food to share and your own reusable plates. We’ll provide utensils, cups, cloth napkins and a variety of beverages.

Sunday, September 22nd – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, September 29th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, October 6th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, October 13th – in person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

Gratitudes

What a delightful Paths of Heart we had last Sunday with Judi Lucero and Emma Sloniker joining us in song! We continued the frivolity at Ace Gillett’s that night where Rudy surprised Judi with a birthday celebration while Mark entertained us with snazzy jazz. A very memorable day!

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…

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

08/29/202409/01/2024

Savoring the Waning Days of Summer

September 1st, 2024

We’re revisiting a “talk” we did way back in 2015, as we find joy in savoring these last few weeks of summer and welcoming the certain changes ahead! These “in-between” days of the seasons always spark something within me. It’s a feeling of delight mostly, as I go out in the early morning and experience perfect temperatures and a stillness that says to me all is right with the world. The garden chores (of watering especially), and the other tasks are winding down, the grass is growing more slowly (less mowing!) and there is a definite “shift” in our perception of the world around us. Lara Touch describes it as “the pause between the in-breath and the out-breath at the change of the seasons.” What a beautiful description for those, like us, who tend to view and assess our lives in terms of the seasons. It’s always good to take a pause in between nature’s “markers” and feel out where we’ve been (physically, emotionally, spiritually) and where we intend to grow in the months ahead. We’re on ZOOM this Sunday – hope you can tune in and join the conversation. Here’s the link:

POH Zoom Gathering
Time: Sep 1, 2024 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88234552701?pwd=SdjQdfZmYZL4bHasnIXjjqxajcJi96.1

Meeting ID: 882 3455 2701
Passcode: 325228

EnJOY, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Sometimes you need to press pause to let everything sink in.”
~ Sebastian Vettel

“There is something special about the beauty in the unclear, the ambiguity, the in-between that you can’t totally recognize.”
~ Alessandro Michele

“Don’t beat yourself up if you’re in an in-between place. Maybe you need to cocoon for a while. Or maybe you can do something fairly mindless like cleaning out the sock drawer or organizing the kitchen cabinets. And then, when it’s time to go, (like when you’re in the middle of the road or the middle of a crisis…or even a great inspiration) you go, and in the process, ta da, you get your ducks in a row!”
~ Jan Garrett

“The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us.”
~ G’Quan

“In many a piece of music, it’s the pause or the rest that gives the piece its beauty and its shape. And I know I, as a writer, will often try to include a lot of empty space on the page so that the reader can complete my thoughts and sentences and so that her imagination has room to breathe.”
~ Pico Iyer

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, September 1st – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. (**switched with September 8th)

Sunday, September 8th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. (**switched with September 1st, as Judi Lucero plans to be
with us in person this day, sharing in the music with her “fluteful” presence!!).

Sunday, September 15th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. Community Potluck following!

Sunday, September 22nd – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, September 29th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, October 6th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

Gratitudes

We went camping with a bunch of friends last weekend! What a glorious time we had – relaxing on the shores of the Poudre River, eating fabulous food, reading, conversing, making music, and playing “jungle bocce ball”! And Colleen’s hip did great! Definitely on the home stretch!

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…

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

08/16/202408/19/2024

The Four (or more!) Rs

August 18th, 2024

Well, here we are in a whole other month since we last gathered and soon it will be September…what?? We’ve had a chance to relax, recharge, rejuvenate, and rediscover the world around us as Colleen continues her recovery (there’s another one!) which still feels too slow – haha! This “back to school” time, even though we are no longer in the thick of it (except that a number of our younger music students return from summer break), has an air of busyness to it that always calls for us (personally) to take some down time before the new school year begins. We are now refreshed and ready to take it all on! We would love to hear your stories of how you relax and recharge – so important in our fast paced world! We’ll have a potluck following our in person gathering this Sunday. Hope you can join us!
Rest assured, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Taking a break. Been working solid for the last few hours, as opposed to working liquid, which is more drinkable. Can I pour you a glass of productivity?”
~ Jarod Kintz

“There is something eternally satisfying about lying motionless for hours on end, watching the world move around us like the shadow on a sundial….. I’m in no hurry to do anything. I’ll probably lie here for the rest of the day. (Great term, that, ‘rest of the day’.)”
~ Fennel Hudson

“Everybody needs some time to rejuvenate, refresh, recharge and begin again…”
~ Revathi Sankaran

“Take the time to slow down, relax, meditate, and contemplate the wonders within. You will discover an inner calm and balance that previously eluded you.”
~ Joanne Madeline Moore

“Want to detox yourself? Write down your dreams each morning in a journal and reflect. It’s like cleaning out the cookies from your mental computer.”
~ Jennifer Ritchie Payette

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

(dates subject to change)

Sunday, August 18th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. with Community Potluck afterwards. Please bring food to share and your own washable plate. We’ll provide utensils, cups, cloth napkins and a variety of beverages!

Sunday, August 25th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, September 1st – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m. (**switched with September 8th)

Sunday, September 15th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, September 22nd – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, September 29th – NO Paths of Heart Gathering

Sunday, October 6th – ZOOM Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m.

Please mark your calendars for the above scheduled dates!

Gratitudes

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to take some time away to experience a couple of music festivals in the mountains of CO – one of which Myles was playing! We had restful, musical times with family and friends! And all that rain – Yes, Yes, Yes!

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…

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

07/26/202407/26/2024

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!

“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…

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

07/19/202407/20/2024

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!

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…

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

07/12/202407/13/2024

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!

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