We all have them, don’t we? The phrases we carry in our hearts, like the rosaries or stones or other talismans some people carry in their pockets, to be pulled out or simply touched, over and over, during difficult times. Here are a few of mine – and I’d love to hear yours.
1. “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” —Julian of Norwich
2. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver
3. “Come forth, and bring with you a heart / That watches and receives.” —Wordsworth – from that poem I memorized recently
4. “I really and truly believe in God with all kinds of doubts. But I base my life on this belief.” —Madeleine L’Engle, A Circle of Quiet
5. “You should sing, then, as wayfarers do – sing, but continue your journey. […] Sing then, but keep going.” —St. Augustine
What words do you carry in your heart?
cakes, tea and dreams 
How I love this list and the question you posed. A few favorites, in no random order:
“let the soft animal of your body love what it loves” – Mary Oliver
“i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)” – e.e. cummings
Ray Bradbury’s passage on how we are all cups, slowly and quietly being filled: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/171515
Joan Didion and Drew Faust’s passage I quote all the time on uncertainty 😉
Rilke’s words on learning to love the questions themselves
I could go on, but I’ll take some time to make a list in my own notebook and then share. What an inspiring post!
Love this list! What a great idea. Now I am thinking of my own – thanks.
I love this. Yes, we all have these words we carry! Mine include some Mary Oliver – especially “instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” and also wordsworth’s “in this moment there is life and food for future years.”. Lately I’ve had Philip Larkin, too: “and sense the solving emptiness that lies just under all we do.”. I’m trying to figure out what the solving emptiness is. xoxo
Great list. I especially love the first one. One of my favorites is the line from Alice in Wonderland. “… sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who doesn’t play has lost forever the child who lived in him and who he will miss terribly.
Pablo Neruda
The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.
John Bingham
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
Oh how I love this list . . . I’m so happy you shared. Here are a few of my favorite words:
It doesn’t happen all at once. You become.
It takes a long time. ~ The Velveteen Rabbit
All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. ~ Havelock Ellis
I will ultimately be empowered by my commitment not to suffer. It’s a way of life. A way to life. ~ Laura Munson
And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything you risk even more.” – Erica Jong
I do not understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us. ~ Anne Lamott
[…] blog after a lyric from her song “Healed.” And this song is one of my very favorites. I carry its lyrics in my heart. Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving. GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", […]
Exactly! And now I must think of mine. Thank you.