"The whole value of solitude ...."

The whole value of solitude depends upon one’s self; it may be a sanctuary or a prison, a haven of repose or a place of punishment, a heaven or a hell, as we ourselves make it.

John Lubbock

"Nothing would be more tiresome ...."

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.

Voltaire

"So many bodies ...."

So many bodies, so many opinions!

But my Beloved, though invisible, is in all these bodies.

There is no life at all without the Beloved;

the Self lives as each and every one.

What, then, 0 friend, are you searching for like a fool?

The object of your quest is within you, as the oil is in the sesame seed.

As the pupil is in the eye, so is the Lord in the body;

The deluded do not know Him, and search for Him without.

The lock of error shuts the gate; open it with the key of Love.

By opening the door, you shall wake the Beloved.

Kabir says: 0 brother, do not pass by such good fortune as this!

"... the importance of play ...."

“… the importance of play all the way through life and how we all need to unlearn the rules that are set up for use by others…”

"We can save any situation with lightness.  That’s where foolishness comes in."

Joan Erikson

"Earth, Teach Me"

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.

Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.

Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.

Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.

Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.

Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

 An Ute Prayer