Tag: Inspirational

My Abundant Life 7-3-26

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July 3rd, 2026

The Hungry Soul

“I cannot count the good people I know who to my mind would be even better if they bent their spirits to the study of their own hungers.”

M. F. K. Fisher (American Food Journalist; July 3rd, 1908 to June 22nd, 1992)

“Many of us constantly hold ourselves in check–about food, relationships, careers–stuffing our desires down deep into the self, as if sheer determination can keep the lid on the longing. But I am gradually coming to an awareness that hunger is holy. We’re meant to be hungry every day and to satisfy that hunger every day. Why else would the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer be for daily bread, even before divine assistance?”

“Our souls know many different kinds of hunger: physical, psychic, emotional, creative, and spiritual.”

“When I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and the warmth and the love of it. …And then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied… and it is all one.”

M. F. K. Fisher (American Food Journalist; July 3rd, 1908 to June 22nd, 1992)

“Love. Hunger. Appetite. Desire. Holiness. Wholeness. It is all One.”

“Satisfying the hunger everyday is the JUICE! Living each day as the best party ever!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 240 to 241 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-2-26

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July 2nd, 2026

The Simplest of Pleasure: One Good Thing That Is

“Redeem

The time. Redeem

The unread vision in the highest dream…”

T. S. Eliot (Poet & Essayist; September 26th, 1888 to January 4th, 1965)

“Some days are shaped by simple pleasures, others are redeemed by them.”

“An Irish proverb tells us ‘Better one good thing that is, rather than two good things that were, or three good things that might never come to pass.’ Today there was no need to glance wistfully at the past or project anxiously into the future because the present was fully lived and simply abundant. Today was rich with one good thing after another until it literally overflowed with pleasure.”

“i know the Lord will help–but help me Lord, until You help.”

Hasidic Prayer

“The reality was that the day would be as hard as I made it. Or as pleasant. There was nothing I could do about my circumstances but accept them. ‘It’s always my choice,’ I reminded myself. Not necessarily to like whatever life throws me, but to try to catch the ball. After all, success in life is not how well we execute Plan A; it’s how smoothly we cope with Plan B. And for most of us, that’s 99 percent of the time.”

“I considered Plan B: redeem the day with simple pleasures, some good things to look forward to. At first, learning to smoothly shift gears to plan B takes some attitude adjustment, but, like driving a car, it becomes an automatic reflex with practice.”

“The day stretched before mee–not as I had hoped. But not, thank heaven, beyond redemption.”

“Chocolate vanilla choose. I choose my life as it unfolds to be thankful and in gratitude to the journey as a whole vs. as bunch of one-offs.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 239 to 240 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-1-26

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July 1st, 2026

“Lovely July… with the evocative murmur of honey bees on the wing and the smell of sun tan cream.”

Cynthia Wickham (Author)

Constant Craving

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

St. Paul (Apostle)

“In my twenties, I thought fame would do it. In my thirties, I became convinced that a comma in my checking account balance was the answer. Now that I’m in my forties, I know that all my seeking can be summed up in one word: contentment.”

“Please let me never forget how rich my wonderful life is right at this moment. Please let me never forget that all I have is all I need. Please let me never forget to give thanks.”

“I am so thankful for the last eight years as I am living an abundant life with love, joy, freedom and peace.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 237 to 239 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-30-26

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June 30th, 2026

Being There: Lessons from the Garden

“All you need is deep within you waiting to unfold and reveal itself. All you have to do is be still and take time to seek for what is within, and you will surely find it.”

Eileen Caddy (British Teacher; August 26th, 1917 to December 13th, 2006)

“Expect your every need to be met, expect the answer to every problem, expect abundance on every level, expect to grow spiritually.”

Eileen Caddy (British Teacher; August 26th, 1917 to December 13th, 2006)

“Whatever you sow, you will reap. …If I sow only positive seeds in my subconscious–thoughts of plenty and not lack–abundance will sprout in the garden.”

“If my harvest is to be a simply abundant lifestyle rooted not in the world but in the Spirit, I must be patient.”

“You are not living by human laws but by divine laws, …Expect miracles and see them take place. Hold ever before you the thought of prosperity and abundance, and know that doing so sets in motion forces that will bring in into being.”

Eileen Caddy (British Teacher; August 26th, 1917 to December 13th, 2006)

“Intentionally living in the possibility of abundance creates abundance. I am a perfect example.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 232 to 236 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-29-26

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June 29th, 2026

Pruning Back, Plowing Ahead

“My soul is a broken field, plowed by pain.”

Sara Teasdale (American Poet; August 8th, 1884 to January 29th, 1933)

“Suddenly, inexplicably, life accidents strike without warning.”

“If life accidents of this kind seem particularly cruel, it’s because they are–prima facie evidence of fate’s maliciousness. More often than any of us would like to admit, life has a way of hitting us where it hurts most.”

“‘To paraphrase John Lennon,’ says Sheehy, ‘life’s accidents are what happen to us while we are making ither plans.'”

“Unfortunately, Sheehy discovered in the course of writing her books, ‘Most people do not negotiate either predictable passages, especially the later ones, or life’s accidents successfully.’ However, those individuals who will themselves to benefit from adversity becomes what Sheehy calls ‘pathfinders’: real-life champions who, ‘by refusing to go under in the onslaught of a life accident,’ emerge victorious.”

“Life accidents prune us back. Our souls become broken fields, plowed by pain.”

“Plants know you are there, and when you approach them knife in hand, they utter tiny shrieks; on the other hand, if you talk to them kindly or pray over them, they reward you with better than average growth.”

Eleanor Perenyi (Gardener & Author; January 4th, 1918 to May 3rd, 2009)

“Pain prunes the unessential emotions, ambitions, and illusions, teaching us the lessons we either consciously or unconsciously refuse to be taught by joy. Pain prunes the insignificant details that distracts us from what is really important, sapping our days, energies, and spirits.”

“Male no mistake, I think pain is a wretched gardener. Her cuts stun and sting, But after pruning, preferably voluntary, we’re able to discern what’s real, what important, and what’s essential for our happiness.”

“Be of good cheer. Study your plants and study your lifestyle. When the right time arrives, go into the garden with sharp shears. Speak kindly. Pray softly. Prune back. Now plow ahead.”

“My pruning recently occurred with my atraumatic splenic event in early June. To take inventory and cut back anything that was not serving me in the new spring. We all have 100% of our lives left and as such to continue to bloom and grow a bit of pruning can give space to fill in with new foliage in ways I never expected. The act of discarding the old and inviting in the new possibilities is the growth of one’s flowering.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 229 to 232 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-28-26

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June 28th, 2026

Repotting: Giving Roots and Yourself Room To Grow

“Little flower–but if I could understand

What you are, root and all, and all in all

I should know what God and [woman] is.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson (Poet & Former Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom; August 6th, 1809 to October 6th, 1892)

“I don’t know when I myself am too pot-bound, …Lacking courage to be replanted, to take the shock of the new soil, to feel into the unknown and take root in it.”

Gunilla Norris (Author; March 1939)

“We, too, need to consider repotting for growth. But when? When we wilt even before the day begins. When we can’t seem to visualize or dream. When we can’t remember the last time we laughed. When we have absolutely nothing in the next twenty-four hours to look forward to. When this happens, week in, week out, we need to realize that we’re pot-bound. We need to gently loosen the soil around our souls, find something that sparks our imagination, quickens our pulse, brings a smile or a giddy lilt to our conversations.”

“As I work with my plants, I see that the roots are just stunted. Gently, with my fingers, I untangle them. Leaf, Stem, Root. Mind. Body. Soul. Three in one. Spirit’s seamless thread of mystery. I have often thought that if I could just discover where one strand left off and another began, I could understand it all. As it is, I understand little, yet somehow I know.”

“Speak to Him thou for He hears. …Spirit with Spirit can meet–closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson (Poet & Former Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom; August 6th, 1809 to October 6th, 1892)

“Root and bud bear silent witness to the restoration.”

“My second half of my life has been a sort of repotting. My roots became blunted and needed new soil and a more expansive setting to allow me to thrive and grow. I am forever thankful for the garden my love, Neil has planted me in and nurtured me with the sun of his love.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 229 to 231 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-27-26

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June 27th, 2026

Rosemary for Remembrance: Sowing Herbal Hopes and Wishes

“Balm brings you sympathy and Marjoram joy

Sage is long life…Sweet Woodruff augurs well for health–

A blessing richer far than wealth.

While Lavender means deep devotion, Herb of sweet omen, Rosemary conveys

Affection and remembrance all your days.

May Heaven and Earth and Man combine

To keep these blessings ever thine.”

Rachel Page Elliott (Author; February 27th, 1913 to March 20th, 2009)

“King Charlemagne of France, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, believed that herbs were ‘the friend of the physician and the pride of cooks’ and ordered the planting of a royal herb garden in the ninth century. Herbs were considered essential for a long, happy, and healthy life.”

“Jeri performs a Native American ritual as she collects herbs. She wears a sacred pouch that carries wheat seeds. As she gathers from the earth, she personally returns an offering by scattering seeds. And even if the seeds don’t sprout, at least she is feeding the earth’s creatures. ‘The Native Americans have a chant that they invoke when they gather.’ Jeri says. ‘The Earth is my Mother, I take care of Her.”

“Today, sow some symbolic seeds, even if you don’t have a garden, as a gesture to ritualize the new life you are creating within. Ask for blessing of Spirit and the nurturing of the Great Mother and know that in due time there will be an abundant harvest for yourself and those you love.”

“In search of my mother’s garden I found my own.”

Alice Walker (American Novelist & Short Story Writer; February 9th, 1944)

“The idea that even in the 9th century, man knew the value of plants to a healthy life. I love the idea of sowing seeds as a gift to Mother Earth. To return to this gifting might yield a a beautiful canvas or sorts. This gives me hope to be an artist after all.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 228 to 229 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-26-26

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June 26th, 2026

Everywoman’s Essence of Paradise

“All the year round she kept racks full of plants in pots standing o green painted wooden steps. There were rare geraniums, dwarf rosebushes, spiraeas with misty white and pink plumes…”

Colette (French Author, Woman of Letters, Mime, Actress & Journalist; January 28th, 1873 to August 3rd, 1954)

“Gardening really has no beginning and no end. In particular, pleasures of the sense of smell really know no seasons. …Bottled under glass, blooming at your elbow, the indoor garden has an immediacy that gardens outside cannot match, The aromas impart an intensity that will not be ignored. …Deliciously distilled, delectably varied–that is the essence of paradise.”

Tovah Martin (Author; October 1969)

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 227 to 228 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-25-26

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June 25th, 2026

Getting Started

“Plant it with the green side up.”

Mary Ann & Frederick McGourty (Gardeners; June 15th, 1959 to May 12th, 2003 & October 26th, 1936 to April 27th, 2006)

“Good gardening is very simple, really. You just have to learn to think like a plant…”

Barbara Damrosch (Writer & Horticulturist; 1942)

“E.B. White, who after his wife Katharine’s death edited her New Yorker gardening columns into a book, ends his remembrance of her gardening years with a glimpse of her last autumn bulb planting and ‘her studied absorption in the implausible notion that there would be yet another spring, oblivious to the ending of her own days, which she knew perfectly well was at hand, sitting there with her detailed chart under those dark skies in the dying October, calmly plotting the resurrection.'”

“…I asked a gardener his secret for abundant blooming. He told me to plant at least six bulbs in each hole (Create a circle of bulbs in the hole with one bulb in the center) and space your holes close together. The result was stunning.”

“Let no one be discouraged by the thought of how much there is to learn. …Each new step becomes a little surer, and each new grasp a little firmer.”

Gertrude Jeykill (British Horticulturist & Garden Designer; November 29th, 1843 to December 8th, 1932)

“I adore the idea of planting 6 bulbs per hole to yield a stunning full blooming.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 225 to 227 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 6-24-26

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June 24th, 2026

Splendor in the Vase: Living with Flowers

“I’d rather have roses on my table, than diamonds on my neck.”

Emma Goldman (Writer; June 27th, 1869 to May 14th, 1940)

“One has the illusion of being an artist painting—Putting a dash of color here, taking out another dash of color there, until the whole composition is to one’s liking.”

Vita Sackville-West (Author & Garden Designer; March 9th, 1892 to June 2nd, 1962)

“Gardening is very creative and artistic….much like painting or cooking.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 224 to 225 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.