Gems 3.85

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 385 Freedom Priceless Lech Walesa

Photo edited with PicMonkey.  Photographer unknown.

Journey Notes

The suggested theme for August is “adventure.”  If you have a favorite quote about adventure or any other uplifting subject, please let us know.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.84

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Freedom Courage Thucydides Gems 384 Niki Flow

Photo by Niki Flow

Journey Notes

Special thanks to “Leolady728” for today’s quote.  The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

 

Gems 3.83

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 383b Gloria Steinem

Photo by Niki Flow

Journey Notes

Special thanks to “RBP” for today’s quote.  The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.82

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 382 Freedom Moshe Dayan

Photo by Niki Flow

Journey Notes

Special thanks to  Kjoyw for today’s quote.  The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

 

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

 

Gems 3.77

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

To Althea from Prison Richard Lovelace Gems 377

Photo “Stonewashed Sunset” by Niki Flow

Journey Notes

The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

 

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.64

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 364 John Olander Effort Equals Change underthesky by Niki Flow.png

Photo “Under the Sky” by Niki Flow.  Poem “Effort Equals Change” by Johnny O

______________

About this poem/author

 

Gems 3.63

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 363 John Olander Boy Oh Boy

Poem “Boy Oh Boy” by Johnny O.  Photo “Some Kinda Blue Love Supreme” by Niki Flow

______________

About this poem/author

Gems 3.60

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

silence macrina wiederkehr

Photo “LBI Jetty” by Niki Flow

I found this quote today while looking for a quote that combined vision (to go along with the photo ^_^) and “silence.” What a gift that search became! It not only led me to this beautiful excerpt from “Seven Sacred Pauses” (which is now on my “want to read” list) but it led me to Macrina’s website. This is how she describes herself in her about section which is so lovely I included the entire thing on today’s Gem on under1000skies:

About Macrina Wiederkehr

Windows are openings to life, providing scenic views for inspiration. If you come to my window I hope you will find the blessing of a scenic view that inspires you. Perhaps it will be a supportive message from my blog, a poem, a quote or a prayer. It could be the discovery of a good book to read, or a movie to view—perhaps an invitation to attend one of my retreats.

When someone asks where I’m from and who I am, this is how I like to introduce myself: I come from the meadows, vineyards and forests of Altus, Arkansas. The country is a cherished memory of what I call first home. My childhood companions were animals, birds, insects, trees, plants, wild flowers and angels. I come from a family that was not without flaws. By today’s standards we may even qualify as a bit dysfunctional yet in spite of our defects I have always felt a unique and beautiful bond with my family.

My second home is with my Benedictine community of sisters, St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, Arkansas. We follow the rule of St. Benedict with the gospel as our guide.

from About Macrina on MacrinaWeiderkehr.com

Journey Notes and News

Monday June 19 to Saturday June 24, we’ll be offline (medical stuff).  We’ll return on Monday June 26th.  The theme for this last week in June is “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know.  Also, we don’t currently have a theme for July.  If you have any ideas, please let us know.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.59

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

closed mouth spoke silent rumi mick

Photo “Age of Silence” by Niki Flow

About Rumi

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی‎‎) (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was a 13th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions.  His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet”and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

Rumi’s works are written mostly in Persian, but occasionally he also used Turkish, Arabic, and Greek in his verse. His Masnavi (Mathnawi), composed in Konya, Turkey, is considered one of the greatest poems of the Persian language. His works are widely read today in their original language across Greater Iran and the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular, most notably in Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United States, and South Asia.

His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Urdu, Pashto, and Bengali.

from “Rumi – Wikipedia”

Journey Notes

Our upcoming Spotlight Saturday will be really special. I had the chance to speak to Dr. Bell of Sheltering Grace in Georgia and can’t wait to tell you about that interview.  It just filled me with joy.

News

Monday June 19 to Saturday June 24, we’ll be offline (medical stuff).  We’ll return on Monday June 26th.  The theme for this last week in June is “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know.  Also, we don’t currently have a theme for July.  If you have any ideas, please let us know.

Radical Self-Expression ☼ Radical Acceptance

This is the first and probably last self-portrait I’ve ever done for under1000skies but this is a subject close to my heart. It’s ridiculously terrifying to post this all over the place which is why I knew I had to do it.

From today on, I’m practicing something my friend told me about recently, a Burning Man way of life that encompasses everyone and everything. It’s simple, wise and really beautiful:

* Radical Self-Expression
* Radical Acceptance

He wrote,

“Embracing those two principles starts with [‘Radical Self-Expression’] — being introspective to figure out how to be yourself. What do I want to do? To be? How can I express that? And then you try stuff on. And some of it fails miserably. And some of it is awesome. But all of it can be fun. You always learn something… “Meanwhile, ‘Radical Acceptance’ requires you to suspend judgement of others–to give them room to express themselves. It’s pretty hard to do that and to attempt ‘Radical Self-Expression’ without learning how to give yourself that same room…”

I love simple wisdom because it is the kind that sinks into your bones and extends across ages, cultures, all borders. Like Rumi’s poetry.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
  ☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
   writers, artists & advocates
   serving and connecting
   homeless creatives.

Gems 3.54

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

nuances under1000skies

Photo by PicMonkey

Journey Notes

The theme for June will be “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know!

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions.  If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

♡. under1000skies

☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
 We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.