Courage has roots. She sleeps on a futon on the floor and lives close to the ground. Courage looks you straight in the eye. She is not impressed with powertrippers, and she knows first aid. Courage is not afraid to weep, and she is not afraid to pray, even when she is not sure who she is praying to. When Courage walks, it is clear that she has made the journey from loneliness to solitude. The people who told me she is stern were not lying; they just forgot to mention that she is kind.
~ from THE BOOK OF QUALITIES by J. Ruth Gendler with thanks to Gay Grissom
Traveling light—imagine this
meaning: unencumbered journeying,
a graceful way of traveling through
life like a single leaf. Now imagine
another: the light by which we
journey, the light that shows the way.
Our traveling light...
What would it mean to live like a
single leaf? What would it mean to
make one’s life a journey of
simplicity? a journey unencumbered,
uncluttered, without distraction—a
journey of focus and intention? a
journey of lightness and light?...
We take delight in things; we take
delight in being loosed from things.
Between these two delights, we must
dance our lives.