Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem-star may lead me
To the sight of Him Who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and alway:
Now begin, on Christmas day.
Tip 3: Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
A stable-lamp is lighted
Whose glow shall wake the sky;
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
And straw like gold shall shine;
A barn shall harbor heaven,
A stall become a shrine.
By Richard Wilbur
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’
There’s a big difference between existing and living. While I grieved I felt I existed and stopped living. M challenged me to live. In Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again I write:
“M stared at me for a moment, and then said, “Life asks the same two questions of everyone. It asks if we want to live. If we say yes to the question, it asks another question. It asks if we are ready to look forward to the joys of living. Each time you choose to live and not give in to despair, Ray, you choose to live. Then, you have a chance to answer the second question.”
Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again is available in print and eBook formats worldwide. eBooks can be downloaded from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, iBooks, Kobo and eBooks2go.com
Tip 2: Start no more new books . . .
To live of love it is to sail afar
And bring both peace and joy where’er I be.
0 Pilot blest! love is my guiding star;
In every soul I meet, Thyself I see.
Safe sail I on, through wind or rain or ice;
Love urges me, love conquers every gale.
High on my mast behold is my device:
“By love I sail!”
excerpt from To Live of Love by St. Teresa of Lisieux
“Impossible is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.” ~ Napoleon
Early on during my grieving process I grew tired of well meaning people telling me time will heal me. I smiled politely and went on grieving privately. In Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again I write:
“I am impatient with the grieving process. In the end, I want to trust God to lead me. I’m not fully on board with the trusting part. Change is difficult. I have a simple choice: drown or swim. There is no in between. There are no life jackets in the sea of grief.”
Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again is available in print and eBook formats worldwide. eBooks can be downloaded from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, iBooks, Kobo and eBooks2go.com
Tip 1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.
