“Animals praise a good day, a good hunt. They praise rain if they’re thirsty. That’s prayer. They don’t live an unconscious life, they simply have no language to talk about these things. But they are grateful for the good things that come along.”
“I am not going to heaven because I have preached to great crowds or because I’ve read the Bible many times. I’m going to heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment, ‘Lord, remember me.’”
Emperor penguins are lovely creatures. They are smart and playful. They slide on their bellies in the snow, and they swim with the grace of a majestic bird when they are under the water. Emperor penguins mate for life. They know when they have found the one, and they stay together from that moment forward, forever. They don’t let anything come between them. They don’t let anything pull them apart. I think this is truly a beautiful thing. If you had the chance to go back in time, would you be like an emperor penguin? Would I? I’d like to think that we would. And if, by God’s grace, I ever have the chance again, I believe that I will. Because in my heart, in my nature, I am an emperor penguin.
“Down through the ages, there has always been the spiritual path. It’s been passed on – it always will be – and if anybody ever wants it in any era, it’s always there.”
“Time unused still vanishes, as if time itself is starving, and each day is swallowed whole, leaving no crumbs.”
– Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Treasure each day. Every moment of life is a gift. Whenever you can, whatever you are doing, strive to look for something to appreciate, to enjoy, to feel wonder about, to be grateful for. Our lives are enriched by the quality of our mindful attention.