BELTANE

“Maiden of Flowers, open the door,
Smith of souls, come you in.
Let there be welcome to the growing strength,
Let there be welcome to the summer of the year.
In bud and blossom you are travelling,
In fruit and fragrance you will arrive.
May the blessed time of Beltane
Inflame the soul of all beings,
Bringing energy and effort to conflagration.
From the depths to the heights
From the heights to the depths,
In the core of every soul.”

From Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews

“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!”

From A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, first instalment published on this day in 1859

“Happiness and unhappiness inter-are. Happiness can be present only if unhappiness is present, and vice versa. It’s like the rose and the garbage. Without the garbage, there can be no rose. If there is no rose, there can be no garbage. If you have the know-how, you can transform garbage into roses. If you don’t have the know-how, the rose quickly turns into garbage. It’s a matter of skill. Skill is connected to mindfulness. By speaking, listening, communicating, observing, and acting mindfully, you become skilled at mindful living.”

Thích Nhất Hạnh

“Draw well water. The cold shakes my teeth. I clear my heart, brush the dust from my robes, and solemnly lift a palm leaf book. I recite with each step to the east to study all. I have not yet found the root of the truth – overlooked it as I pursued this life’s path. How I aspire to these deep and sagely words, hoping that I can cultivate my nature in full. I find the whole of the way quiet and still, amid colourful moths and dark bamboo. Sun glimmers in the mist and heavy dew. Pines appear bathed in the thickest paste. Tranquil. Suddenly I leave both words and speech. Awareness. Joy. My heart is finally content.”

Visiting Master Chow’s Temple at Daybreak to Read a Zen Scripture by Liu Jong Yuan (773 – 819)

“Simplicity and sincerity generally go hand in hand, as both proceed from a love of truth.”

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 – 1797), author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, born on this day

“If anyone can prove and show to me that I think and act in error, I will gladly change it – for I seek the truth, by which no one has ever been harmed. The one who is harmed is the one who abides in deceit and ignorance.”

Meditations, 6.21 by Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180), born on this day

“What everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved.”

Ella Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996), born on this day

“Simply to be, and to let things be as they speak wordlessly from the mystery of what they are; simply to say a silent yes to the hillside flowers, to the trees we walk under; to pass from one person to another a morsel of bread, an answering yes: this is the simplest, the quietest, of sacraments.”

Jacob Trapp, UU Minister (1899 – 1992), quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.”

From The Tempest by William Shakespeare, born on this day in 1564 and died on this day in 1616

Art by J. M. W. Turner, born on this day in 1775

EARTH DAY

“The Everglades preservationist Marjorie Stoneman Douglas once remarked that the Earth is as tough as an old shoe. On Earth Day, take comfort in its endurance, its perseverance, and its sheer stubbornness. We’ve proved that wetlands can be rehabilitated and endangered species can be saved. Likewise your own spirit, your beleaguered capacity to hope for the future, can be reinvigorated. Walk in the park, climb a mountain, swim in a lake, dig in a garden. Draw strength from the mantle of this planet, a world stronger than all of us put together. Dream Eden.”

From Earth Bound: Daily Meditations for All Seasons by Brian Nelson