Author Archives: nataliescarberry

811. A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. ~Chinese Proverb

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In order to see birds,
it is necessary to become
part of the silence.
~Robert Lynd

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Birds are a miracle
because they prove to us
there is a finer,
simpler state of being
which we may attain.
~Doug Coupland

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You have to believe in happiness,
or happiness never comes…
Ah, that’s the reason a bird can sing –
On its darkest day he believes in Spring.
~Douglas Malloch

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There is nothing in which the birds
differ more from man than the
way in which they can build and yet
leave a landscape as it was before.
~Robert Lynd

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He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. ~Psalm 91:4   ✝

**Images via Pinterest

810. Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open. ~John Barrymore

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In oneself lies the whole world
and if you know how to look and learn,
the door is there and the key is in your hand.
Nobody on earth can give you either
the key or the door to open, except yourself.
~Krishnamurti

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I truly believe that everything we do
and everyone we meet is
put in our path for a purpose.
There are no accidents;
we’re all teachers – if we’re willing
to pay attention to the lessons we learn,
trust our positive instincts and not be
afraid to take risks or wait for
some miracle to come knocking at the door.
~Maria Gibbs

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Doors are always intriguing, don’t you think?!  Our hotel in Paris was at 8 Avenue Rapp in the 7th arrondissement, and we frequently walked past the Art Nouveau Door above at 29 Avenue Rapp, on the way to the Eiffel Tower or to find some place to eat dinner. The beautiful door was built in 1901 by Jules Lavirotte, and I believe it to be the entrance to apartments or town homes. And oh, mais oui, oui, oui, how I would love to live in those surroundings and behind that beautiful door.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” ~Spoken by Jesus Christ in Luke 11: 9  ✝

809. Seasons change with the scenery; weaving time in a tapestry. ~Paul Simon

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**Important information below haikus and photos…

I saw at first a
bit of her coronal
frilly filaments

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In luminous veils,
a hazy shade of summer
and soft purpleness

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At the bottom of
the garden where it’s said
fairies often play

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Sadly, I am the bearer of worrisome tidings this afternoon. My daughter’s mother-in-law had surgery on Monday, and it seems that her lungs have partially collapsed. Therefore she is still in ICU and struggling to breathe. Thus my post today is brief, and they will remain that way until Alice is “out of the woods” so to speak. It also regrettably means I’ll have little time, if any, to read of your posts for a few days. So excuse my absence and pray for healing and comfort for Alice as she is in great need of the Lord’s mercy and grace during this ordeal.

The Lord sustains him/her on his/her sickbed; in his/her illness He restores him/her to full health. ~Adapted passage from Psalm 41:3  ✝

808. The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. -Albert Schweitzer 

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Human potential,
though not always apparent,
is there waiting
to be discovered and brought forth.
~Unknown

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I heard a voice that told me I’m essential,
that all my fears are limiting my potential,
that it’s time to step into the light
and use every bit of talent I have.
-Edited excerpt from a quote by India Arie

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**Image via Pinterest

807. Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

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One day, love and friendship met.
Love asked, “Why do you exist
when I already exist?”
Friendship smiled and said,
“To put a smile where you leave tears.”
~Author Unknown

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There are those who pass like ships in the night
Who meet for a moment then sail out of sight
With never a backward glance of regret
Folks we know briefly then quickly forget
Then there are friends who sail together
Through quiet waters and stormy weather
Helping each other through joy and through strife
And they are the kind who give meaning to life
~Faith Offerman

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…Eat, friends, and drink your fill of love. ~Excerpt from Song of Songs 5:1  ✝

**All images via Pinterest

Sonnet by Elizabeth Bishop

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zdunno03's avatarLeonard Durso

I am in need of music that would flow
Over my fretful, feeling finger-tips,
Over my bitter-tainted, trembling lips,
With melody, deep, clear, and liquid-slow.
Oh for the healing swaying, old and low,
Of some song sung to rest the tired dead,
A song to fall like water on my head,
And over quivering limbs, dream flushed to glow!

There is a magic made by melody:
A spell of rest, and quiet breadth, and cool
Heart, that sinks through fading colors deep
To the subaqueous stillness of the sea,
And floats forever in a moon-green pool,
Held in the arms of rhythm and of sleep.

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806. Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity. ~Lao Tzu


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Whenever there is stillness
there is the still small voice,
God speaking from the whirlwind,
nature’s old song and dance…
~Annie Dillard

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“I have often wondered whether especially those days when we are forced to remain idle are not precisely the days spent in the most profound activity. Whether our actions themselves, even if they do not take place until later, are nothing more than the last reverberations of a vast movement that occurs within us during idle days. In any case, it is very important to be idle with confidence, with devotion, possibly even with joy. The days when even our hands do not stir are so exceptionally quiet that it is hardly possible to raise them without hearing a whole lot.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. ~Exodus 14:14  ✝

**The image in my photo is of still waters in a local pond.