My Book of Quotations: Thursday's Reflection

Don't you love it when you receive the perfect present? There have been many of those in my privileged life, I say with a grateful heart. Some have been gifts of time and some have been special events. Some have been unexpected opportunities or fulfillment of goals or an answer to a prayer, but, of course, many have been a tangible object. 

Thank you, dear friend, who shortly before Advent gave me this small journal. Not only do I love its jewel-like appearance, the shimmering ombre blue tones, but the feel of the paper invites the touch of a fountain pen, which many years ago was another  treasured gift. And, it is a Christian LaCroix of Paris product, so I pretend that I bought it myself in a small and exclusive shop on a Parisian side street. 

At first I didn't know how I wanted to use this journal. I knew I didn't want to use it for To Do lists--how mundane! Nor did I want to use it for my daily journal writing because I would fill it in a week. I wanted to savor this journal. 

Eventually, I decided to use it to store sparkling and special quotations from my reading or wherever I encountered them, for that matter. And that's what I am doing. 

Some days I leaf through the pages just to see what inspires or speaks to me in that moment. 

                     Love wholeheartedly, be surprised,
                     give thanks and praise -- then you 
                     will discover the fullness of your life.
                                 David Steindl-Rast

Some days a quotation I recorded couldn't be more appropriate.

                     Your life begins to end the moment you
                     start being silent about the things that matter.
                                  Martin Luther King, Jr.

Some days I look for a quotation I have saved that might help soothe a troubled soul, as I did the other day in response to an email from a friend. This was the first quotation I recorded in this precious little journal.

                      Come from the edge of darkness
                      Come
                      from the depth of fear
                      and become 
                      the bearer of God.
                                  Jan Richardson

Before I record a new quotation, I reread the last one. 

  Regular periods of solitude, silence,  
  and stillness provide a way to dismantle 
  the dissonance. Contemplative 
  practices provide a way to cut through 
  the static and the noise that lead us 
  away from the voice of God.
                           Phileena Heuerte







I am not compelled to record a quotation every day, but I know the presence of this little book makes me more aware of the wisdom available to me. My only rule, by the way, is to note the date I add the quote to my journal. 

                       1-1-18
                       The soul holds expectations loosely and is not
                       attached to the outcome. The soul takes her
                       time, embraces the slow ripening of things,
                       and savors what is to be learned from the 
                       present.
                                   Christine Valters Paintner

I wonder what wisdom tomorrow will bring, but when it comes I know where to shelter it. 


An Invitation
How do you save and savor the wisdom around you? I would love to know.