Friday, August 26, 2011

Anticipation













It is Friday today and it is my 52nd birthday. When I consider all that has come before, and all that is to come, I can only say that every moment, every choice was part of a Now. My fervent wish, whether on my birthday or not, is to stay in each moment and see it for its Beauty.

Now I would like to share some of my favorite quotes relating to Beauty.

First, as you would expect, there is Romeo's description of his Juliet: "Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear." ("Romeo and Juliet," William Shakespeare, I.iii. 54)

I admire also Keats's immortal lines from "Ode on a Grecian Urn": "Beauty is truth, Truth beauty/ That is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know."

There is a portion of the midday Canticle in the Celtic Daily Prayer from the Northumbrian Community I find quite lovely: "Teach us, dear Lord, to number our days/ That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom./Oh, satisfy us early with Thy mercy/That we may rejoice and be glad all of our days./And let the Beauty of the Lord our God be upon us/And establish the work of our hands."

Finally, a quote from Brian Andreas at Storypeople.com : "She said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short."

[[Photo: Lily in the Morning Light, Barbara Butler McCoy, August 2011.]]

4 comments:

Di Mackey said...

Happy birthday, belated though this wish is, I'm wishing you the very best things for the year ahead.

I have been lost in the chaos that rules here in my world. You are long overdue for an email. I'm off to do it now.
xxx

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

Thank you dear friend. Another year with friends like you in my life can only be great ;0

Chaos does seem to be the order of the day anymore, doesn't it? Come to think of it, that is a topic best left to email so you'll be hearing from me soon.

paris parfait said...

A belated Happy Birthday (another Virgo here - mine is the 10th). Lots of challenges once hitting 50, but benefits too (and not being afraid to say what we think). Hope you had a wonderful celebration, as you deserve!

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

Thank you, Tara - so sweet of you ;0 Many wishes for happiness to you, as well, for your day tomorrow. I'll be wishing you well all day long. All in all I am happy being 50+, I really am. Knowing of women like you - talented, confident, vibrant, experienced - certainly makes whatever challenges pop up worthwhile.