[mindofserenity]

[larapaulussen]

[niihiiil-deactivated20210913]

[2006barbie-deactivated20210102]

(1) from “The Carrying” by Ada Limón // (2) “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith // (3) “Keeping Things Whole” by Mark Strand // (4) “Invitation” by Mary Oliver // (5) “Life, and Nothing More…” (Persian: زندگی و دیگر هیچ‎‎) directed by Abbas Kiarostami // (6) “Still” by Marc Alan Di Martino // (7) Ilya Kaminsky, from ‘Alfonso, in Snow’, Deaf Republic // (8) Yi Yi by Edward Yang, 2000 // (9) from “Corruption: Poems” by Camille Norton

[noorulmisbahh]

"نفر من قدر الله إلى قدر الله." - عمر بن الخطاب.

"We flee from God's destiny to God's destiny."

-Umar b. al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه

[yours-sincerelyy-deactivated202]

[life-in-the-freefall]

Sometimes it is enough to simply sit with God, like you sit near a river, a fireplace or a lover.

You don’t always need to ask God for things. You can sit in gentle amazement and enjoy the magnitude of Divine Presence.

[thinksquad-deactivated20190405]

[existential-celestial]

Franz Wright, from “East Boston, 1996; Night Walk,” in God’s Silence

[humansofnewyork]

“There are always two little beautiful humans looking at me like I’m the most important thing in the world. They copy everything I do, especially my son. I’m very careful how I treat my wife because I know that’s how he’ll learn to treat women. I call my wife pet names, and my son started calling his sister those same names. Recently I picked flowers for my wife. And the next day he picked flowers for his sister.” (Moscow, Russia)

[humansofnewyork]

“We were laying in bed just the other night, looking at the ceiling, and I said: ‘You know, it’s been thirty years, and it’s never felt worn. There’s never been a sense of tiredness with you.’”

[strathshepard]

Rainbow Mountain, Peru

[mun-dane]

“You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discover that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevsky. This is a very great liberation for the suffering, struggling person, who always thinks that he is alone. This is why art is important. Art would not be important if life were not important, and life is important.”

— James Baldwin, Conversations with James Baldwin

[resqectable]

“So, if you are too tired to speak, sit next to me because I, too, am fluent in silence.”

— R. Arnold

[313mahdi]

[dalmakhaani]

books and hands

[mesogeios]

“In many Muslim cultures, when you want to ask them how they’re doing, you ask: in Arabic, Kayf haal-ik? or, in Persian, Haal-e shomaa chetoreh? How is your haal? What is this haal that you inquire about? It is the transient state of one’s heart. In reality, we ask, “How is your heart doing at this very moment, at this breath?” When I ask, “How are you?” that is really what I want to know. I am not asking how many items are on your to-do list, nor asking how many items are in your inbox. I want to know how your heart is doing, at this very moment. Tell me. Tell me your heart is joyous, tell me your heart is aching, tell me your heart is sad, tell me your heart craves a human touch. Examine your own heart, explore your soul, and then tell me something about your heart and your soul. Tell me you remember you are still a human being, not just a human doing. Tell me you’re more than just a machine, checking off items from your to-do list. Have that conversation, that glance, that touch. Be a healing conversation, one filled with grace and presence. Put your hand on my arm, look me in the eye, and connect with me for one second. Tell me something about your heart, and awaken my heart. Help me remember that I too am a full and complete human being, a human being who also craves a human touch.”

— Omid Safi, The Disease of Being Busy