Author Archives: Laura Dobson

On Meditating, Sort Of, by Mary Oliver, “Meditation, so I’ve heard, is best accomplishedif you entertain a certain strict posture.Frankly, I prefer just to lounge under a tree.So why should I think I could ever be successful? Some days I fall asleep, or land in thateven better place — half asleep —where the world, spring,Continue reading “Thought for the day, Tuesday 23rd August”

Inventory by Dorothy Parker, born on this day in 1893, “Four be the things I am wiser to know:Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.Four be the things I’d been better without:Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.Three be the things I shall never attain:Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.Three be the things I shall have till IContinue reading “Thought for the day, Monday 22nd August”

“Seekers are people of faith even if they do not belong to a particular religion. Faith in this sense is deeper than one’s belief system. Belief systems belong to the level of pluralism; faith to the level of unity. Faith is constitutive of human nature itself. It is openness to Ultimate Mystery. It is theContinue reading “Thought for the day, Sunday 21st August”

“Silence is the gift of musicwhen its closing cadence diesin hush of adoration. Silence is fulfilment of desirethat ends in askingto find true prayer unspoken. Silence is the benedictionthat stills the day’s debateby speaking the Eternal Word.” Marjorie Easton

“If we were to walk in the woods and a spring appeared just when we became thirsty, we would call it a miracle. And if on a second walk, if we became thirsty at just that point again, and again the spring appeared, we would remark on the coincidence. But if that spring were thereContinue reading “Thought for the day, Friday 19th August”

“It is very important to go out alone, to sit under a tree—not with a book, not with a companion, but by yourself—and observe the falling of a leaf, hear the lapping of the water, the fishermen’s song, watch the flight of a bird, and of your own thoughts as they chase each other acrossContinue reading “Thought for the day, Thursday 18th August”

“This is what it means to be entangled: it is to see that we are not complete, removed, or boundaried. We are not independent. To speak from a place of manicured morality, to attempt to stand outside the mess of it all, to try to be sincere, is to be blind to our rapturous entanglementContinue reading “Thought for the day, Wednesday 17th August”

“Listening is an art that comes from a quiet mind and an open heart. Listening uses all of your senses and it is a very subtle skill. Listening, just listening – not only with the ear, with your being. Your being becomes the instrument of listening. Your sensing mechanism in life is not just yourContinue reading “Thought for the day, Tuesday 16th August”

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall… think of it, always… Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life.Continue reading “Thought for the day, Monday 15th August”

For the Senses by John O’Donohue, “May the touch of your skinRegister the beautyOf the othernessThat surrounds you. May your listening be attunedTo the deeper silenceWhere sound is honedTo bring distance home. May the fragranceOf a breathing meadowRefresh your heartAnd remind you you areA child of the earth. And when you partakeOf food and drink,MayContinue reading “Thought for the day, Sunday 14th August”