The Smallest Acts

On impulse I purchased

a Meditation-a-Day calendar

in January from the clearance

table at Barnes & Noble.

Those of you who have been

reading along with me for a

while know that I love quotes.

Often, when I read one that

really resonates with my spirit,

I massage the words over and

over in my mind....

And often, that leads to some

deeper thoughts ~

And often, I like to share

those thoughts

with

you.

Because I know, if we were

talking over steaming cups of

tea or coffee, frosty glasses of

iced tea or wine, we would have

a wonderful conversation sparked

by an idea that was born from

one of these quotes.

Here is one that 

particularly

stayed with me:

Put your heart, mind, intellect,

and soul even to your smallest

acts.  This is the secret of

success.

~ Swami Sivananda

Do you live with this kind

of passion, where each day

you greet every task with your

whole heart?

I try to.

Try.

Some days are more 

challenging in this regard 

than others.

But still, I try.

One of my all-time favorite

quotes, from Mother Teresa,

is very similar to the Swami's:

Not all of us can do great things.

But we can do small things with

great love.

Yes, we can fold the warm

laundry with great love ~

for the most basic of blessings

such as life, family and freedom....

Yes, we can put our hearts into

weeding the garden, thankful for

the feeling of sunshine on our

backs, fresh air in our lungs and

the joy of birdsong....

Yes, we can put our mind into

creating nourishing meals that

fuel these bodies that allow us

to do so many things, every day....

Yes, we can put our intellect 

into loading the dishwasher, walking

the dog or writing a birthday card,

honoring the brain that takes care

of blinking and breathing and putting

one foot in front of the other, freeing

our minds to dream as well

as to take care of business.....

And yes, we can put our souls 

into how we meet the world each

day, via the smile to the cashier,

the wave to the neighbor, the hug

we give a friend.....

It's all a matter of passion and

gratitude and how we frame

our life's work, whether that

is done behind a desk, behind

a wheel, behind a rake or

broom, camera or piano ~

or behind little ones, gently 

guiding them forward.

I'll leave you with another quote

from an extraordinary woman,

Helen Keller.  It has been at the

top of my blog page since I began

this adventure in 2010.

I long to accomplish a great and

noble task, but it is my chief duty

to accomplish small tasks as if

the were great and noble.

Love her.

Love you all.

Thanks for inspiring my 

passion, not only for writing, 

but for sharing the

beauty that is this life.

xo

Suzanne

all pictures:  P&H