“The journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step. So we must never neglect any work of peace within our reach, however small.”

Adlai Stevenson II (1900 – 1965), US diplomat and Unitarian, born on this day

International Day of Human Fraternity

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear… I learned to put my trust in God and to seek Him as my strength… God has always given me the strength to say what is right… I had the strength of God and my ancestors with me.”

Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005), civil rights activist, born on this day

“My hope rises when I find that the inner heart of a human being may remain pure, notwithstanding some corruption of the outer coverings.”

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821 – 1910), first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States and first woman on the UK Medical Register, born on this day

Candlemas

“O God, give me light in my heart
and light in my tongue
and light in my hearing
and light in my sight
and light in my feeling
and light in all my body
and light before me
and light behind me.
Give me, I pray, light on my right hand
and light on my left
and light above me
and light beneath me.
O Lord, increase light within me
and give me light
and illuminate me.”

Ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

Imbolc

“At this time of year it sometimes feels as though winter still grips the land and the weather may be fierce. But if we seek them out, there are signs of new life stirring all around, even beneath deep snow. New shoots will be beginning to show in many plants, and for those of us out early, the dawn chorus of birdsong will be growing noticeably louder and last longer as the days visibly lengthen. Catkins, the flowers of the hazel, appear by mid February, and are followed by those of the willow…

Try to take some time out in nature during Imbolc and you’ll be amazed at what you find, even in a city park. Breathing slow and easy, try to be as present as you can to the simple act of walking, one foot after another, the earth beneath your feet and the sky above you. If the winter has felt long and tiresome, or if you feel seasonally affected by the lack of sunlight, take these moments as a gentle meditative exercise to encourage you, day by day. We all have times when winter reflects darkness or depression within our lives and these first stirrings are nature’s gentle medicine for easing our recovery, as well as adding some extra magic to our understanding of the seasonal wheel.

Even for those of us in a positive state of mind, there is something so beautiful about the quality of light on these early days of the year, and the quiet way life returns to even the bleakest landscape, that can support and nurture us, coaxing us gently into alignment with nature’s rhythm to find a more relaxed, present and reflective state.”

From The Magical Year by Danu Forest

To the Pine Tree, translation from Anishinaabemowin

“on first seeing it
on returning from Europe
The pine! the pine! I eager cried,
The pine, my father! see it stand,
As first that cherished tree I spied,
Returning to my native land.
The pine! the pine! oh lovely scene!
The pine, that is forever green.
Ah beauteous tree! ah happy sight!
That greets me on my native strand
And hails me, with a friend’s delight,
To my own dear bright mother land
Oh ‘tis to me a heart-sweet scene,
The pine—the pine! that’s ever green.
Not all the trees of England bright,
Not Erin’s lawns of green and light
Are half so sweet to memory’s eye,
As this dear type of northern sky
Oh ‘tis to me a heart-sweet scene,
The pine—the pine! that ever green.”

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft / Bamewawagezhikaquay (1800 – 1842), Owijbe-American poet, born on this day

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.”

Mahatma Gandhi, assassinated on this day in 1948

“Whatever is my right as a man is also the right of another; and it becomes my duty to guarantee as well as to possess.”

From Rights of Man by Thomas Paine (1737 – 1809), born on this day

“People tend to misunderstand solitude and sometimes it is seen as being selfish—but it is not. It’s not being socially awkward, not being anti-social, not being entirely withdrawn and not being lonely or sad. Solitude is something more than these misconceptions and if you feel like being away from the crowd, go, take steps away, take time and find rest among nature and yourself. It’s true when they say, solitude will fill you more than it will empty you.”

M. J. Blossoms

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

“I really see no other solution than to turn inward and root out all the hardness there. I no longer believe we can change anything in the world until we change ourselves. That seems to be the only lesson to be learned.”

Etty Hillesum (1914 – 1943), Dutch Jewish writer, murdered in Auschwitz