As I set up my calendar for the month, I select a quote I’ve found that speaks to me. I write it in my planner and leave space below it to capture phrases I hear or read that speak to me and relate to the quote. I found this practice centers me throughout the month, and helps me be more present in my conversations, meetings, and readings. For August 2024, the quote that centered me was: Absorb the grace and glory of the world.
This quote seemed fitting for the month when so many are on vacation, me included. And, I would be in two majestic places in the month where there would be plenty to absorb. A beach island for two weeks – one with my family and one with my hubby’s. Then the mountains of North Carolina for a writer’s conference with poet John Roedel at the Art of Living Retreat Center.
Here are quotes, lyrics, and phrases that that caught my attention during the month… of which most were captured when writers read their work on the last day of the 30-person conference:
- You are your own birdsong
- Go down the rabbit hole of wonder
- Listen to the wind…pay attention to the patterns
- When is the last time you heard your authentic voice?
- More joy, less head trash
- You’re going to be my favorite memory
- I have made my home in the bend of a question mark
- We are but a whisper; but oh, what a chorus
- Share your gooey nugget center for others to chew on
- Sorrow, sister of joy
- But someday you will be the one who ignites the blaze in another person’s heart that won’t ever be put out again
- There is no such thing as an ordinary life
- A moonbeam winked at you
- Fitting in is for sardines
- Damn the gatekeepers
- Your words grew feathers and floated off each night between the bars
- Gentle wishes for one another
- Sharing yourself is an act of service
- You don’t need to be perfect, you just need to be gentle – with others and yourself
- A blank page is an empty universe you get to create
- You are here to be a lamplighter that hands out little bits of your flame to ensure the rest of the world doesn’t exist in darkness
- Lost in the weeds of your heart
- I want bees to rest on my crown
- Good morning new perspective, I haven’t met you yet
- An unsettling quiet, even with all the elephants in the room
- You were created to make us gasp
- Your heart creates a park bench where you and others can meet
- We’re all just beads on a prayer bracelet
- The first bird of the day to be brave and break the silence
As the month started, I sat behind a car with the license plate MO FUNNER that seemed to confirm my choice of quote and I absorbed the vibe for the month.
At the beach I absorbed how nature seemed to externalize my internal as it was our first family beach vacation without dad. You see hurricane Debby slowly moved over our week. Each day a circulating pattern of rainbands, pressure drops of stillness, sun breakthroughs, 40+ mph wind gusts, and vivid warm pink sunsets. My body echoing Mother Nature’s emotions, or she mine: tense, calm, sad, peaceful, tears, wound up, happy, hurt, laughter. All a swirl like the vanilla/chocolate soft serve ice cream, a family tradition at the beach. But as the storm settled, what my body absorbed and felt was gratitude. Our family was together in a sacred space with decades of memories of love to cherish and build on.
Later in August I cruised down I-81 over the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia behind the license plate FUN AW8S. I absorbed a favorite – and sacred – activity of mine: the road trip. Open road, good weather, snack bag, singing to the sky with my sunroof open, savoring the journey, and not concerned about the destination. Freedom. As the hills grew taller, the distance between my ears and shoulders grew as well… my body unwinding.
I stopped on my trip to give two cases of prosecco to Mary Baldwin University’s new President to help him recognize staff and faculty’s “golden moments” as they work to step into the “next” of the school’s ever-changing legacy of liberal arts education. Much like Superman soaking the sun’s rays to regain his power, I stood on the campus hilltop where I graduated when it was an all-women’s college and absorbed potential. Again, my body shifted, softened. My corporate work edges, personal expectations, and mental exhaustion absorbed by the earth beneath my feet.
By month’s end, I found myself standing under the universe in the black of night as countless stars winked at me. There was no absorbing, it was consumption. The Universe absorbed me… a melting, perhaps a thawing, as my deep sighs, concerns, big fat slow rolling tears, appreciation, awe, and all the mortar that shored up my internal wall of worries dissipated.
Spent. Weightless. Open. Relieved.
I stood.
Absorbed in the grace and glory of it all.
