BEAUTIFUL WORDS
even if it is
a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe
even if it is
a tree which stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do
even if it is
a long way from here.
Hold on to life even when
it is easier letting go.
Hold on to my hand even when
I have gone away from you.”
- Nancy Wood
~ Robert Fulghum
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And Sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
~ Emily Dickinson
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
~Winston Churchill
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path.
Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.”
~ Joseph Campbell
“My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light!”
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.”
~ Mother Teresa
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
~ Author Unknown
“When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it’s bottomless, that it doesn’t have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space.”
~ Pema Chödrön
“The beach house…
was designed so that in a bad storm
the ocean could have a way
to rush through it
without doing any major damage…
its beauty is in its durability
and its durability comes
not from offering resistance to the power
of the ocean
but in finding a way for the water to pass
through
thereby saving it
and letting it stand strong.”
~ Martha Manning
(On not resisting grief, but letting it out; letting it pass through you.)
“Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.”
~ Voltaire
“Of all the powers bestowed on the grieving, the most mystifying is being able to see in the dark. And of all the secrets of the universe that are only visible at blackest night, the most holy is the power of compassion.”
~ Molly Fumia
“We have no right to ask when sorrow comes, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way.”
~ Author Unknown
“The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“It’s so curious: one can resist tears and ‘behave’ very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer… and everything collapses.”
~ Colette
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
~ Agatha Christie
“Courage is not the absence of fear and pain, but the affirmation of life despite fear and pain.”
~ Rabbi Earl Grollman
“Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak
Whispers the oe’r fraught heart and bids it break.”
~ William Shakespeare
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
~ From a headstone in Ireland
“There are things that we don’t want to happen but have to accept,
things we don’t want to know but have to learn,
and people we can’t live without but have to let go.”
~Author Unknown
“Every evening I turn my worries over to God.
He’s going to be up all night anyway.”
~ Mary C. Crowley
“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”
~ George Santayana
“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
~ Albert Camus
“I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.”
~ Anne Frank
“Whenever you fall, pick something up.”
~ Oswald Avery
“Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves.”
~ Italian Proverb
“Hope is hearing the melody of the future: faith is dancing to it today.”
~ Ruben A. Alvez
.
HEAVY
The time
I thought
I could not
go any closer to grief
without dying
I went closer
and I did not die.
Surely God had his hand in this,
as well as friends,
Still, I was bent,
and my laughter,
as the poet said,
was nowhere to be found.
Then said my friend Daniel
(brave even among lions),
“It’s not the weight you carry
but how you carry it–
books, bricks, grief–
it’s all in the way
you embrace it, balance it, carry it
when you cannot, and would not,
put it down.”
So I went practicing.
Have you noticed?
Have you heard the laughter
that comes, now and again,
out of my startled mouth?
How I linger
to admire, admire, admire
the things of this world
that are kind, and maybe
also troubled–
roses in the wind,
the sea geese on the steep wave,
a love
to which there is no reply?
~ Mary Oliver
from “Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver”
One of my favorite quotes from my all-time favorite movie, “Titanic”. It just popped into me head today for some reason:
Jack (Leo DiCaprio): “I figure life’s a gift and I don’t intend on wasting it. You don’t know what hand you’re gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you…to make each day count.”
~Ann
Like
0
Hi Ann, loved the quote, read it to my mom-in-law today and I knew she would love it too and agree which is what she did and then she told me to get out on the beach! And I did, LOL!
I’ve been really sad though there have been some terrible incidents around here this week with 3 people drowning in the surf around here. A 20-year-old drowned in the area on Monday. He went in for one last swim with his friend and a bigger than normal wave came up behind them and he didn’t resurface. They found him 2 days later. He was a cute kid who came from a good family and was studying to be a civil engineer. His father & grandfather worked at Langley Air Force base. They referred to him as a “lovable prankster” at school. So, yes, life as we know it, can change on a dime. These waters around here always scare the — out of me as my son is always wanting to be in them playing in the waves. It’s always full of rip currents around here and on Monday & Tuesday I was watching 6-8 foot waves from the shore. I kept pointing out to my father-in-law on Monday how I kept seeing 10 footers come rolling in from behind the sets every so often and he kept saying Oh No, that’s not 10 feet because he’s a meteorologist and therefore, he believes he’s the expert on all things oceanographic. However, having a brother who has been a professional surfer his entire life, I’ve come to know what wave sizes are accurately by him, the guy that actually has been in a thousands of them!
So yes, I think we all can agree, life is precious and we’re just grateful for every day…
Hugs,
Karen
Like
0
Elizabeth shared this with us on the Welcome page – I moved it here. ~ Jean
I thought I would share this…from my brother – a spoken word poet
he read it at my mom service.
we cared for her together as she transitioned out of this life.
she taught me to tune myself as an instrument
and play love and beauty and light.
to become a medium for poetry.
Not like I had a choice really
son of a fisherman and mystic medicine woman
with a ranger, a dancer, horse whisperer as siblings.
who stood in the wisdom of the previous decade.
With I shoulda coulda and don’t you do’s.
I was always taught to gain sustenance from my surroundings
to share all that I had with everyone
to find the path thru the wilderness
moving my body in rhythm to life’s composition
and listen to the silent whispers of the heartbeats around you.
That an overflowing heart
will always compensate for empty pockets.
That if you still your mind and open your faith
you are never separated from the ones we love.
that grief is not pain, but a process of learning to love in absence
after the privilege of loving in presence.
so I celebrate each tear with equal parts laughter
and I know it may seem I ‘m more the son of a fisherman
casting lines at you about the one that got away
I can only say that it was my mother who gifted me
with Khalil Gibran
And her line attached to this lure I’m casting
from our days together on the radio
specifically from the Tuesday night mediumship show
whenever someone called consumed with pain
by the depth of their grief
she would remind them that grief
is only the measure of love that we had for that person
that our connection continues
so when we cry cause we lost them
they cry for us because they’re still there
But when we laugh with what we shared they laugh with us
so please tonight go home and find your stillness
take a candle lit bath or sit in meditation
or fold your hands prayer
or sing
or dance
do what ever it is that allows your soul it’s freedom
to transcend the numbness
that the world asks us to assume
to unlock the cage we keep our hearts in
and feel
feel the light you posses
discover the joy and unity of the human spirit
and laugh with my mom
and any tears you shed will be the salve to heal scars of leaving.
Peace, Love & Poetry.
Elizabeth
Like
0
Out of the mouths of babes: My 7-year-old daughter was looking at this website & said: “I like that Don’t Lose Heart website….the yellow & brown colors make me feel cozy and warm…and snuggly.” On that note, we really need to get to bed-don’t usually let her stay up this late!!
~Ann
Like
0
Okay Ann, between you and Lisa I’m going to have to make a page just for wonderful kid quotes. ~ Jean
Like
0
Hi Jean & Ann, speaking of kids, I have 4 ten-year old boys over right now having a sleepover with my son and they’re all watching Shrek III still! Shouldn’t they be tired by now!?! I knew Dan’s b-day was coming up and signing on tonight I see it was Friday. Earlier today, I was driving in my car listening to so many of his amazing songs and I just started thinking about what a magical person he was: how he created magic, lived a magical life and married a magical girl. I had a feeling you would post a new picture of him on his web site after realizing it was his b-day tonight and it was a beautiful golden photo taken by you of him validating my thoughts on both of you today. Come to think of it didn’t he write a song “there’s magic every moment…” I also thought of my brother during that drive too who I lost 4 years ago and mused on how he was a magical person as well. As your insightful husband also said “someday we’ll all understand..”
Happy Birthday wishes to Dan. Ever On, Karen
Like
0
All your poems and quotes are wonderful. Thanks to each of you for your contributions. I, too, collect quotes and poems and it’s been an experience reading all of these.
While I have no where near mastered the sentiment in this quote, it gives me pause each time I read it:
“I long ago abandoned the notion of a life without storms, or a world without dry and killing seasons. Life is too complicated, too constantly changing, to be anything but what it is. And I am, by nature, too mercurial to be anything but deeply wary of the grave unnaturalness involved in any attempt to exert too much control over essentially uncontrollable forces. There will always be propelling, disturbing elements, and they will be there until, as Lowell put it, the watch is taken from the wrist. It is, at the end of the day, the individual moments of restlessness, of bleakness, of strong persuasions and maddened enthusiasms, that inform one’s life, change the nature and direction of one’s work, and give final meaning and color to one’s loves and friendships.”
– Kay Redfield Jamison
Like
0
Thanks for that one, Dee. I’ve become very fond of storms. ~ Jean
Like
0
I posted this on Facebook today & Char suggested that I should also post it here. I was looking for a sympathy poem last spring for my niece & I found this & liked it & just saved it…
“Today is my Dad’s birthday! He would have been 82 years old, hard to believe. This poem has nothing to do with birthdays but I just like it.”
An Angel Walks Beside Us
Angels live forever far beyond our days on earth,
and every soul receives an angel guardian at birth.
Invisible, these angels never leave us, day or night.
They know our fears and whisper,
“Things are going to be all right.”
They give us strength and purpose,
keep our hope and courage strong,
they fill our minds with wisdom and our spirits with a song.
And when the time in this world comes to reach our journey’s end,
our angel walks beside us like a kind, familiar friend.
And as we leave behind the only place we’ve ever known,
we see our angel’s smile at last and hear “You’re home…you’re home.”
Happy Birthday Dad!
Like
0
What a beautiful poem! I had never heard it before. Thank you so mcuh for posting it. Peace.
Like
0
I collect quotes… I found many of the ones I love posted here.
God bless you.
Like
0
SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS
She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:
A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
–Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!
-Wordsworth
Like
0
One of my favorites:
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Like
0
Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in our sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
Like
0
“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming – WOW–What a Ride!” Author unknown but a quote that an old boss of mine used to love to recite. God rest your soul Bobby…I hope you are riding the 4 winds and dancing on the clouds up “There”! Richard
Like
0
I ran across an expression on the history channel the other day that struck me deeply. It relates to the American patriots, who early on were a rag tag army, that had to quickly become a strong military force to overcome the British and win the Revolutionary War. The expression is
“Bring your best to the Moment”. Short, simple, and to the point, but yet profound. Life is continually filled with “moments”…some big, others small, and the rest somewhere in the middle. All relative and important regardless of size. So with each step we take in life always remember to “Bring your best to the Moment”!
Like
0
Richard,
I simply adore this quote, after all what else can we do? When you look at life like this, doesn’t it make it so much easier?
After all, we all got here thru our own individual trial by fire.
And what a great place it is, as Jean has made it that way.
Char
Like
0
I am really trying to live by this quote, BUT what am I to do, here I am listening to a DGF cd, on my 5 minute drive to work, which song is best for the moment, I LOVE THEM ALL… help! What a problem
Like
0
Char,
Truth be told…I honestly don’t know if there is a best DGF song for the moment as all of Dan’s work, each and every song, fit’s the best category. So…just groove from a random DGF selection as his music virtually fits any moment, mood, or place in time! Smile away! Richard
Like
0
Subject: $20 ~ Human Value
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked,”Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up.
He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this. He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up.
He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.
Next he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with
his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.
“Now, who still wants it?”
Still the hands went into the air.
“My friends, we have all learned a very valuable
lesson. No matter what was done to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.
It was still worth $20. “Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.
“But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.
“You are special – Don’t EVER forget it.”
Like
0
Many thanks, this is really a special comment. I can only speak for myself, but I needed that today, Thank you Richard.
Like
0
I can’t believe I’ve never come across this “Human Value” story until now, Richard. What great words of wisdom about learning to love oneself unconditionally. Reading this was the self-esteem boost I needed this evening. Thanks for posting
Like
0
A testiment to profound and infinite love from none other than Winne the Pooh:
One very smart bear once said…
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without
you.” – Winnie the Pooh
Like
0
Poet Sara Teasdale wrote in her poem “Moonlight”–
The heart asks more than life can give,
When that is learned then all is learned
Like
0
LONGING
Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again
For then the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.
Come, as thou cam’st a thousand times,
A messenger from radiant climes,
And smile on thy new world, and be
As kind to all the rest as me.
Or, as thou never cam’st in sooth,
Come now, and let me dream it truth;
And part my hair, and kiss my brow,
And say: My love, why suff’rest thou?
Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again
For then the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.
-Matthew Arnold
Like
0
Absolutely beautiful. Thanks, Denton. ~ Jean
Like
0
Desiderata
A poem of peace – truth – spirit – life
How to live at peace with God
and your soul in this world
“You are a child of the universe …”
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s —
NOT “Found in Old St. Paul’s Church in 1692
Like
0
“Dawn, like an angel, lights on the step
Muting the morning she heralds
Dew on the grass like the tears the night wept
Gone long before the day wears old
Time stills the singing a child holds so dear
And I’m just beginning to hear
Gone are the pathways the child followed home
Gone like the sand and the foam”
~ Dan Fogelberg “The Sand And The Foam”
Like
0
Oh God, I LOVE that song! You really can tell that Dan was an artist because his words are so picturesque, like musical paintings. I really feel sorry for kids growing up now & having music videos to watch. The videos TELL them what to picture in their minds. When I grew up, we had radio & records. We had to use our imagination to create the videos in our heads. No video on MTV could ever hold a candle to the beauty of this song.
Like
0
Denise, I second this emotion! Thank you.
Like
0
ok, what,and/or who(m) could say more than this?
Like
0
RAINBOW’S END
where the sand & water meet
is where i plant my feet
as i gaze into the oceans of my mind
with a whisper of your song
the Heavens sing along
weaving through such tender notes & rhymes
i picture now, a sail
that’s riding on a gale
so far beyond the boundaries of time
that’s where you’ve ventured to
your earthly journey’s through
and where you are, the spirit never dies
so peace be with you, brother
sailing now, upon Celestial winds
you’re free from all the suff’ring
know in time, our hearts will surely mend…
you’ve finally made it to the rainbow’s end
i know i’ll meet you there someday
until then, i’ll think of you and say…
peace be with you, brother
sailing now, upon Celestial winds
you’re free from all your suff’ring
just know in time, our hearts will surely mend…
you’ve finally made it to the rainbow’s end,
alas, you’ve finally reached the rainbow’s end.
————————————————–
Dedicated to Daniel Grayling Fogelberg, 1951-2007
————————————————–
Writers: Timothy Phelps/ Don Phelps(ASCAP)
Jean, this is the song that I wrote on your don’t lose heart page about. I, too, have lost several dear ones to cancer, especially my uncle Randel,my dad’s youngest brother, nearly 2 years ago at the age of 59. I loved him so much and miss him terribly. I did not know Dan, but loved him just the same and this song is an extension of the love I felt for him…and for you, for loving him. I truly believe with the right connection, this song could touch a lot of people’s hearts. My email is timothyphelps18@yahoo.com. Thank you for your time.
Like
0
This is beautiful. Thank you, Tim. ~ Jean
Like
0
My favorite quote from Maxine (of Hallmark fame):
“When life gives you lemons, stick them in your bra. Can’t hurt, might help.”
Like
0
Ha! My favorite Maxine maxim as well. ~ Jean
Like
0
The dew of compassion is a tear.
Lord Byron
Like
0
Thanks, Lezlie. Ah, Lord Byron. What a wild heart that one had! ~ Jean
[img]byron.jpg[/img]
Like
0
Jean, I’ll certainly give Lord Byron his just due regarding his wild heart but the writer/poet Robert Burns of Scotland certainly held his own!
Smile! Richard
Like
0