September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Anne Strader

Is there enough silence for the Word to be heard?

Warm Greetings, Dear Friends! The long, lazy, days of summer will soon be a bit shorter as the season turns and cooler weather arrives. As we return from vacation trips and arrive at these waning days of summer, our thoughts naturally turn again to our work in the world. "Work is love made visible," according to Kahlil Gibran. Thinking of it in such a way changes everything! No matter what work we may do, whether it be lowly and menial or vitally important in the eyes of the world, how blessed and fulfilling it becomes when we are ever conscious that in the doing of it we are shining our love-light into the world. As we sit in the Silence, remembering that whatever we do is of God and God is always present in it, may we be blessed and in turn, bless the world with our contributions to the well-being of all.

To seek out beauty in our work

David Whyte | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

To seek out beauty in our work is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but who we have become while accomplishing the task.

~ from CROSSING THE UNKNOWN SEA by David Whyte

Spirit and work are linked among indigenous people

Malidoma Some | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Spirit and work are linked among indigenous people because human work is viewed as an intensification of the work that Spirit does in nature... Individuals, as extensions of Spirit, come into the world with a purpose. At its core, the purpose of an individual is to bring beauty, harmony, and communion to earth.

~ from THE HEALING WISDOM OF AFRICA by Malidoma Some

Work offered with love

Barbara Taylor and Nan Merrill | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Work offered with love
by a soul at peace
breaks through the darkness
so the light shines through:
One heart blessing all hearts.

~ from PEACE PLANET by Nan Merrill and Barbara Taylor

My work is God's work

Joan Chittister | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

I finally came to know that my work is God's work, unfinished by God because God meant it to be finished by me.

~ from THERE IS A SEASON by Joan Chittister

My essential task

Martin Buber | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

The environment which I feel to be the natural one, the situation which has been assigned to me as my fate, the things that happen to me day after day, the things that claim me day after day -- these contain my essential task and such fulfillment of existence as is open to me... The Baal Shem teaches that no encounter with a being or a thing in the course of our life lacks a hidden significance. The people we live with or meet with, the animals that help us with our farm work, the soil we till, the materials we shape, the tools we use, they all contain a mysterious spiritual substance which depends on us for helping it towards its pure form, its perfection. If we neglect this spiritual substance sent across our path, if we think only in terms of momentary purposes, without developing a genuine relationship to the beings and things in whose life we ought to take part, as they in ours, then we shall ourselves be debarred from true fulfilled existence.

~ from THE WAY OF MAN by Martin Buber, as reprinted in AN ALMANAC FOR THE SOUL by Marv and Nancy Hiles

All good things at the price of labor

Michael J. Gelb | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Leonardo da Vinci knew that God helps those who help themselves and that this could be hard work. The labor that brings us all good things is more than just our effort in the outer world — it is a reflection of our inner work and ethical awareness. Leonardo's prayer illustrated this: "Thou, O God, dost sell unto us all good things at the price of labor."

~ from DA VINCI DECODED by Michael J. Gelb

The great work of life

Jerry Thomas | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

The great work of life is not to save the world but to attain God Realization which, by being in the process of doing so, you have a tremendously powerful and positive effect on the world condition and consciousness.

~ from BODY OF TIME, SOUL OF ETERNITY by Jerry Thomas

When there is order there is little to do

John Heider | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Selflessness gives one center.
Center creates order.
When there is order, there is little to do.

~ "37. Doing Little" in THE TAO OF LEADERSHIP by John Heider

Now do heart work

Rainer Maria Rilke | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Work of sight is done.
Now do heart work
on the pictures within you.

~ by Rainer Maria Rilke

At the heart of life is service

Mother Teresa | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

At the heart of silence is prayer.
At the heart of prayer is faith.
At the heart of faith is life.
At the heart of life is service.

~ by Mother Teresa

The goal of work

Tom Bender | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

The goal of singing a song is not to reach the end as quickly as possible. It is a state of creating harmony, beauty, growth and understanding. The goal of work, as a sacred art, is to use the need for a product or service to develop the greatest possible power on the object, and the users. Sacred work puts the mind on service to the heart as well.

~ from SILENCE, SONG AND SHADOWS by Tom Bender

Serving with a peace-filled heart

Jamie Sams | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

When we are willing to commit to 51% service to self and 48% to others, we have achieved a balance that allows us to be effective in life. Whether we have service-related jobs or volunteer makes no difference. The commitment to making our world a better place for everyone is the key to any job. On one level, we agree to be role models, and because of that devotion to being our personal best, we are forced to examine our personal integrity, our willingness to change and grow, and our commitment to doing what is needed when it is needed, serving with a peace-filled heart.

~ from DANCING THE DREAM by Jamie Sams

They're working

Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Dr. Torres had never seen teeth as bad as those he saw at La Mesa. "This stuff wasn't in any of my books." He noticed that the worst problems often belonged to the toughest men and women in the prison, and even the hardest cases cried when he showed them their new teeth in the mirror.

Some of the inmates he worked on still stay in touch with him. "They call me all the time and tell me, 'Hey, I'm working over here, I'm working over there,'" he says. "The jobs are no big deal, but they're working, which they couldn't do before, because people didn't accept them. Nobody except Mother Antonia cared for them."

~ from PRISON ANGEL by Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan

To give birth to ourselves

Eric Fromm | September 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 8)

Our main task in life is to give birth to ourselves, to become what we potentially are.

~ by Erich Fromm