Counting My Blessings

When I started counting my blessings,

my whole life turned around.

Willie Nelson

#@#@#@#

Unthankful Heart

The unthankful heart . . . discovers no mercies;
but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and,
as the magnet finds the iron,
so it will find,
in every hour,
some heavenly blessings!
Henry Ward Beecher

An Italian Blessing

Bordered by seas

crisscrossed by mountains

watered by rivers, lakes, and streams

drenched by sun

May the land sing songs of blessing to you.

Senses spellbound

heightened forever by genuis . . .

Dante

daVinci, Michelangelo

Puccini, Toscanini, Enrico and Luciano

May the artists sing songs of beauty to you.

Proud offspring of continuous civilization

deeply tied to tradition

passionately attuned to family, faith, food and wine

openly warm and affectionate,

decidely spirited and quick to forgive

intuitively friendly, kind, tenacious, poetic and wise

May the people sing songs of love to you.

Traditional Irish Blessing

May the blessing of light be with you --

light outside and light within.

May sunlight shine upon you

and warm your heart

'til it glows like a great peat fire.

May the blessing of rain --

the sweet, soft rain --
fall upon your spirit

and wash it clean.

May it leave a shining pool

where the blue of heaven shines,

and sometines a star.

-- an old Irish Blessing

Unknown Blessings

Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.

-- Native American prayer

Choosing Words Wisely

Words are very important.
When we say to someone: "You are an ugly, useless, despicable person," we might have ruined the possibility for a relationship with that person for life.
Words can continue to do harm for many years.

It is so important to choose our words wisely.
When we are boiling with anger and eager to throw bitter words at our opponents, it is better to remain silent.
Words spoken in rage will make reconciliation very hard.
Choosing life and not death, blessings and not curses often starts by choosing to remain silent or choosing carefully the words that open the way to healing.

Henri Nouwen

Words For The Day

An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, sappy whistler in the dark.

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic.

If we remember those times and places
where people have behaved magnificently,

this gives us energy to act and at least the possibility of sending

this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

-- Howard Zinn

Today my prayer consisted in simply going to my heart and

remembering all the folks I've stored there.

It is not cold storage.

It is a quite warm and tender place.

-- Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB

A Tree Full of Angels

When I count my blessings,

I count you twice.

-- Irish Proverb