A Sigh

Letter 4567

A Sigh — purple linocut illustration

How does my body feel?

Is there tension in my belly?

Pain in the arch of my foot?

When I breathe, does my chest tighten?

❖

Let me unclench my fist, unclench my teeth, unclench my body, unclench my breath.

A sigh, Lord, can bring so much relief. Let me sigh.

Consider:

Can I let go?

Reading:

❖ “I exist as I am, that is enough.” — Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

❖ “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

❖ “Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10 (KJV)

Thank you for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

The Right Way

Letter 4566

The Right Way — purple linocut illustration

The list of items that need attention continues to grow, yet the world gives no instructions for how they might be accomplished.

Even for the smallest tasks, there are different approaches I might take.

Do I clean the counter with a perfunctory wave? Or do I move the knives and dust under them all?

❖

Let me take greater interest and pay greater attention to how I fulfill my duties, even as no one may be watching.

Let me bring my full self to everything I do today.

Consider:

Can I act with greater devotion, even in my daily chores?

Reading:

❖ “He who would do good to another, must do it in minute particulars:” — William Blake, Jerusalem

❖ “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” — Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

❖ “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” — Colossians 3:23 (KJV)

Thank you for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

Labor

Letter 4565

Labor — purple linocut illustration

I am awake early, watching the new sun about to shine on new lands.

In my rooms, while outside the world seems to frolic, I turn inward and inward.

Where has there been progress? Where not? How far is left to go, as I try to grow more like whom you would have me be?

❖

My neighbor once remarked how dismal a view they found this to be. But for me it brings the deepest satisfaction. If I am your instrument, let me be continually perfected.

Even on days of glory, there is work to be done.

Consider:

Can I seek improvement today?

Reading:

❖ “Live the questions now.” — Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

❖ “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” — James Clear, Atomic Habits

❖ “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” — Galatians 6:9 (KJV)

Thank you for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.

Remembrance

Letter 4564

Remembrance — purple linocut illustration

For what will I be remembered? The chores I do each morning? The flock? My tidy rooms? My devotion to you, Lord?

❖

When past, it will be my effect on others that will be recalled. My neighbors will remember how they felt with me.

Let me create fond memories today.

Consider:

Can I be kind to all today?

Reading:

❖ “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?” — George Eliot, Middlemarch

❖ “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” — Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter

❖ “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” — Proverbs 22:1 (KJV)

Thank you for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.

~B.R.