"I don't see the desert as barren at all; I see it as full and ripe. It doesn't need to be flattered with rain. It certainly needs rain, but it does with what it has, and creates amazing beauty." -Joy Harjo
The desert is anything but boring or barren. Just look at the uniquely beautiful skins on a few of the trees on the grounds of the Franciscan Renewal Center in the Sonoran Desert.
We too have beauty that is uniquely beautiful on the outside of us and on the inside. At the same time, we are similar on the inside with common human needs and the gifts we share.
And, like the desert, we too "do with what we have." The gift of strength helps us with that. Courage, imagination, love, hope, faith...all our gifts do.
Today, let's focus on beauty and love, noticing beauty and loving all that is.
We face many challenges now...we the world, we the planet, we the people. But instead of focusing on all that is "wrong," let's notice beauty and love all that is, with compassion.
Let's recognize the highest qualities and gifts in ourselves, one another, and in the world. Let's nurture and grow them in ourselves and help more beauty blossom everywhere.
With gratitude and joy,
Charlene
P.S. - This touchstone is inspired by a flashback to Living the Twelve Gifts Retreat at the Franciscan Renewal Center, where healing beauty abounds.
THE SECOND GIFT IS BEAUTY. May your deeds reflect its depth. -from The Twelve Gifts of Birth