“I don’t know Who, or what, put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone, or Something, and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal.”

Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General and Unitarian, born on this day in 1905

“Perhaps the single most important thing that we can do to undo the harm we have done is to fix firmly in our minds the thought: the earth is alive.”

James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis, who died on Tuesday, on his 103rd birthday

Heartwork by Suzy Kassem,

“Each day is born with a sunrise
and ends in a sunset, the same way we
open our eyes to see the light,
and close them to hear the dark.
You have no control over
how your story begins or ends.
But by now, you should know that
all things have an ending.
Every spark returns to darkness.
Every sound returns to silence.
Every flower returns to sleep
with the earth.
The journey of the sun
and moon is predictable. But yours,
is your ultimate
ART.”

“People often ask me what is the most effective technique for transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say that the best answer is – just be a little kinder.”

Aldous Huxley, born on this day in 1894

In the Meantime by Tom Hirons,

“Meanwhile, flowers still bloom.
The moon rises, and the sun.
Babies smile and somewhere,
Against all the odds,
Two people are falling in love.
Strangers share cigarettes and jokes.
Light plays on the surface of water.
Grace occurs on unlikely streets
And we hold each other fast
Against entropy, the fires and the flood.
Life leans towards living
And, while death claims all things at the end,
There were such precious times between,
In which everything was radiant
And we loved, again, this world.”

How Webb can light the spark of our souls by Matthew Fox,

“Can the James Webb Telescope contribute to soul work therefore and light the sparks of our souls? Does it light the spark of our inner work?
Inner work is about Gratitude. Can meditating on the original galaxies and stars of the universe awaken gratitude?
Inner work is about Awe. Do Webb’s pictures bespeak Awe?
Inner work is about Reverence. Can reverence and respect for our existence follow from Webb’s revelations?
Inner work is about biophilia (love of life and evolution’s journey into life) and setting necrophilia aside (love of death).
Inner work is about Eros (not Thanatos).
Inner work is about Wisdom (which includes Eros and embraces knowledge but is bigger than knowledge alone).
Inner work marries the divine feminine and sacred masculine and recognizes authentic power as transformation and craft and power-with, not power as control or domination or power-over).
Inner work is about Silence including the silence that Awe brings.
Inner work is about Emptying (including emptying our minds about how we used to think about the age, size and journey of the universe and how we got here).
Inner work is about tasting Nothingness.
Inner work undergoes the Dark Night of the Soul and society and our species.
Inner work is about Black Holes, both physical and psychical.
Outer work born of inner work is about Creativity.
Outer work is about Birthing. Birthing ways of survival, participating in the birthing of the universe otherwise known as ‘evolution’ and contributing to it.
Father Sky is busy birthing and Mother Earth is busy birthing and humanity can be also, even birthing the Webb Telescope and so much more.
Birthing a better version of human where co-operation, not competition is the norm.
Outer work means Birthing Compassion and Justice.
Outer work is about why we are here…
…and where here is
…and that the cosmos birthed us…
and that we can praise.
Outer work includes celebration.
Outer work includes passion for justice—eco, racial, economic, social, gender, gender preference, etc.
Outer work means caring about future generations—of humans surely –but of all children of Mother Earth.
Outer work is passing on the goodness of being.
“The first and primary meaning of salvation is this: To preserve things in the good.” (Thomas Aquinas)”

“Never underestimate the power of a simple, pure deed done from the heart.
The world is not changed by men who move mountains, nor by those who lead the revolutions, nor by those whose purse strings tie up the world.
Dictators are deposed, oppression is dissolved, entire nations are transformed by a few precious acts of beauty performed by a handful of unknown soldiers.
As Maimonides wrote in his code of law, “Each person must see himself as though the entire world were held in balance and any deed he may do could tip the scales.””

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow never comes. Today is here.
If you don’t know what to do, sit still and listen.
You may hear something.
Nobody knows.
We may pull apart the petals of a rose or make chemical analysis of its perfume, but the mystic beauty of its form and odour is still a secret, locked in to where we have no keys.”

Carl Sandburg

“As you love your own body, so regard everyone as equal to your own body. When the Supreme Experience supervenes, everyone’s service is revealed as one’s own service. Call it a bird, an insect, an animal or a man, call it by any name you please, one serves one’s own Self in every one of them.”

Sri Anandamayi Ma

“The single observation I would offer for your consideration is that some things are beyond your control. You can lose your health to illness or accident. You can lose your wealth to all manner of unpredictable sources. What are not easily stolen from you without your cooperation are your principles and your values. They are your most important possessions and, if carefully selected and nurtured, will well serve you and your fellow man.”

Neil Armstrong, first man to step onto the moon, on this day in 1969