While beauty gladdens our hearts, it makes us lonely too for what cannot be. True beauty is woven through the heart of life and is ever engaged with forces of ignorance, darkness, ugliness and negativity; yet domination and power are not beauty's way. Beauty works from within these conflicts of forces and her brightening may or may not appear. Where beauty seems absent, she is often hidden and still at workin the slow industry of transformation. So much of beauty is not immediately apparent and indeed it could take a long time before it becomes visible. It often takes a lot of struggle and committed attention and generosity, even sacrifice, in order to create beauty. This work of beauty is slow and patient; it is the transformation through which the darkness of suffering eventually glimmers with the learned refinement of true radiance. John O'Donahue.
Yesterday, a good friend shared with me her belief that suffering is an art through which we have the opportunity to strip away the Ego in order to reach towards a sense of clarity where we ourselves grow smaller in order to let God shine from within us. We dont vanish externally. Internally, however, we allow the beauty of God to alter the colourful prisms we see through. We become the essence of God. How radiantly Divine is that?
What if God was one of us? He is. One and all as one.
(you just never know what one will learn during coffee break in my office!)
The barbed wire fence in this picture glows from the sun making it seem like it is decorated with a string of tiny lights for celebration. Radiant.
The barbed wire fence in this picture glows from the sun making it seem like it is decorated with a string of tiny lights for celebration. Radiant.
10 comments:
This Picture is Beautiful it looks like strands of Gold wire. Thankyou for your kind words Dan I am going to do just as you suggested and start with just one thought and Publish xxx
Great quote!!
i like that phrase, "the slow industry of transformation"
shaz....it does look like gold wire. it was fascinating to see it glimmer. I had never seen that happen before and i'm up there often to take in the sunsets.
I'm glad you'll be blogging again soon. Just one little bite at a time right?
Monk.....I really think you would enjoy John O'Donahue's writing. I learned of him and his work through Pip and Paul (Harbour). The latest book I have read is entitled Beauty and I was entranced by it. Let me know if you get your hands on it and read it. I would love to know your thoughts.
ps. I don't think true transformation can occur any other way but gradual.
What a wonderful words. I came along a lot of beauty in the last couple of weeks and seen a lot of progress. There are also things you can't change in life and I still have to learn to deal with frustration. I always feel a sense of peace when I read your beautiful posts Dana Yes I agree One and all is one. That must have been good coffee.
Marja....you expressed my own sentiments. I'm pleased your feel a sense of peace here. Interestingly, it is where I try to seek it out as well. It helps me face those nasties and those frustrations I know I can't control.
Stripping away our egos as my friend Joan described is exactly that......finding that peace by letting go of what we will never be able to control. It's a tough thing to do for a control freak like myself.
I don't know why I never looked you up before, but I love the way you write here and your thinking is much in like with mine it seems.
I find it interesting that we are both the same age, female and born in the same time of the year and look at my blog if you get a chance, we have the same lay-out. Too funny, or maybe not funny.
I do find it fascinating to get other perspectives on human thinking and emotions. I came over here from under-there. Your comment made me want to know more about emotional abandonment and how it has touched my life. Where can I read more about this?
much2ponder....i think it is pretty funny! I also think it may be just where we are in our own personal development too. lots to ponder is correct!
This is really lovely and very close to the way I believe. I do see ego as destructive and believe that as soon as we understand our commonalities, things will begin to improve.
:)
~*
Gorgeous photo and I appreciate O'Donahue's words. xo
That last pic has a mystical quality about it. It's truly lovely.
Post a Comment