two thoughts

I realize that I have been heavy on one "m" (mothering) while neglecting the other side of myself--and of this blog--musing, thinking, reflecting, being still.

In a small effort to right that wrong, here are two thoughts I have been thinking on throughout the past few weeks. The first is a verse from a postcard I received, which now resides on the side of the refrigerator. The second is an excerpt from an excellent little book entitled Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

2 Open the gates to all who are righteous;
allow the faithful to enter.
3 You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
4 Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
--Isaiah 26:2-4

"I want to give and take from my children and husband, to share with friends and community, to carry out my obligations to man and to the world, as a woman, as an artist, as a citizen.

"But I want first of all--in fact, as an end to these other desires--to be at peace with myself. I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I can. I want, in fact--to borrow from the language of the saints--to live "in grace" as much of the time as possible. I am not using this term in a strictly theological sense. By grace I mean an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony. I am seeking perhaps what Socrates asked for in the prayer from the Phaedrus when he said, 'May the outward and inward man be at one.' I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God."