“The canvas is my playground, where dreams and reality dance together…
My brush dances with the rhythm of life, painting a symphony of emotions on the canvas…
In every stroke, I weave the stories of my land, capturing the essence of Brazil…
Through art, I aim to awake the dormant colours of the world and ignite the imagination…
May my art inspire you to see the world through new lenses, embracing the magic of creativity…
Art is a language of the soul, speaking volumes through colours and shapes…
Art is a powerful reflection of society, challenging norms and sparking conversations…
Art is a bridge that connects hearts, transcending borders and embracing diversity.”

Tarsila do Amaral (1886 – 1973), Brazilian artist, born on this day

“”To return to the root is repose.” These are the principles which underlie the wisdom of the East, which the West has to discover and the East to recover if the world is to find its balance…

There is an activity of the mind which is grasping, achieving, dominating, but there is also an activity which is receptive, attentive, open to others. This is what we have to learn. The classical expression of this intuitive wisdom is to be found in the Tao Te Ching, which speaks of the Spirit of the Valley and the Mystic Female…

Intuition cannot be produced. It has to be allowed to happen. But that is just what the rational mind cannot endure. It wants to control everything. It is not prepared to be silent, to be still, to allow things to happen. Of course, there is a passivity of inertia, but this is an “active passivity.” It is what the Chinese call wu wei, action in inaction. It is a state of receptivity.”

Bede Griffiths (1906 – 1993), Benedictine monk and yogi

“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos; the materials must, in the first place, be afforded: it can give form to dark, shapeless substances, but cannot bring into being the substance itself… Invention consists in the capacity of seizing on the capabilities of a subject, and in the power of moulding and fashioning ideas suggested to it.”

From Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1797 – 1851), born on this day

“Spirit of beauty, whose revelations come to us in sun and rain, dawn and dusk,
In all flowing, circling, shining and living things,
And in the quiet at the heart of all motion,
Be within us this day as the wonder and welcome of the living soul.
Awake our senses and quicken our minds
That we may partake, and be inwardly fed and renewed.
May we give our hearts to beauty,
As the harp gives itself to the hand.
May we turn towards the true and the good,
As buds and flowers are uplifted to the sun.”

Jacob Trapp (1899 – 1992), Unitarian Universalist minister, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“”Speak to the earth,” says the Book of Job, “and it will teach thee.” All things are known to and made by God, Job tells us. Some of us do speak to the earth and learn proof of God’s hand in everything, while others speak to the earth and learn more about the divinity of their own hearts. Still others speak to the earth and learn that the earth itself is God. What will you say to the earth? What is it you wish to learn?”

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

“The little cares that fretted me.
I lost them yesterday
Among the fields above the sea.
Among the winds at play;
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what may happen,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay;
Among the husking of the corn
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born,
Out in the fields with God.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 – 1861)

“Sing to Life a new song!
Sing of Life, all Creation!
Sing of compassion and
temper your deeds with kindness.
Sing to all the world and
tell of the miracles that sustain us daily.
Yet Wonder is greater than praise,
no words can capture its Essence.
All words are idols, all ideas snares –
Truth is beyond opinion,
Reality lies beyond thought’s last horizon.
Splendour and majesty leave us speechless.
Strength and beauty are touched not talked.
Let your worship be acts of beauty and holiness;
Let all the world stand together in awe.
Declare among the nations “All is God!
Maintain the world with justice!”
The heavens rejoice and the earth is glad;
the seas roar their praise.
The fields exult; the forests sing.
For all the world is rooted in righteousness.”

Rabbi Rami Shapiro

“The Beloved woke. We became That, and the lake is crystal-clear.
Intense cold makes water ice. Then the hard ice turns to slush and back to water,
so there are three forms of consciousness: the individual, the world, and God,
which in the sun of True Awareness melt to one flowing: I AM THAT.”

Lalla Ded (also known as Lalleshwari), 14th century Kashmiri poet mystic

“Above all try to be kind. I have no doubt that kindness is the greatest virtue. You can find a million reasons in any one day to dislike people, to feel resentment or even loathing. But to be kind is to protect yourself from the worst parts of your own nature. You may fear that to face people with an open heart leaves you vulnerable, open to abuse. I rather doubt it. The way of the hard face is much harder. Be kind to others, especially the more difficult people you encounter, and that kindness will come back to you.”

Feargal Keane, writer and journalist, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“Earth’s body is not for sale
or rent. She is real
and we are her estate.
But no body is property.
Not even God owns any of it,
but delights in its being its own.

An ancient forest is always
in a dynamic state, half
of its body actively growing,
half of it actively dying –
these are the same half!

The other half is always
eating and being eaten.
Trees live for two thousand years
and then are food for as long.
This is perpetual and holy communion.

Nobody owns the sacred.
Every body is sacred.
Pray for the future:
become an animal spirited
and glorious in your Earthbody.
Offer thanks when you lie down
with the trees.”

Alla Renée Bozarth