William T Donovan

There are events in your life that have a different quality, a tinge of the mystical and unexplainable. These events should not just be brushed aside, but need to be pondered. You are not “just imagining” that there may be a deeper meaning or a message for you.

God is revealed as one who is, who is for me, who is ready to act for me, as “I am who am—for you.” I am not lost in the crowd. I am the one and only beloved me, unique and special. God would have to cease to be God in order to forget me. And so, I am not just a drop in the ocean

In Lent, open your eyes more. When my heart is moved with awe at the majesty of nature’s power or with compassion at the suffering of a fellow traveler, it shows itself connected to the immense Heart that loves all of us as children.

Do what makes you fully alive. God’s glory is in the exuberant aliveness of all that has been created. Being immersed in your fullest self is being immersed in God’s creative being. All by itself that gives glory to God.

God is not judging you on your amount of perfection, but is glad that you are just living life and encountering the world. Don’t dwell on your own mistakes and missteps and be harsh with yourself. God takes delight in your ongoing growth and adventures.

Christian is as Christian does. Many are actually following Jesus’ way even though they don't know much about him. And many who know a lot of doctrine show little love for others and a lot of harsh judgment. They would have judged Jesus!

God is revealed as one who is, who is for me, who is ready to act for me, as “I am who am—for you.” I am not lost in the crowd. I am the one and only beloved me, unique and special. God would have to cease to be God in order to forget me. And so, I am not just a drop in the ocean

We can’t just sit back and say “we are saved,” as if that's the whole Christian message. We need to keep asking about how we are manifesting God’s compassion in our life with others. If we are not spreading compassion, we're spreading something else.

Almost all human beings around the world hold to some idea of an afterlife. Most people have had some experiences where they felt that a loved one who had died was now letting them know that it is all right. We will find unity and peace with those who have shared our universe.

We live in an unfinished world, and for that reason the innocent continue to suffer. It’s a little like living in an unfinished house—there are boards, nails and exposed wiring everywhere, and the chance of getting hurt remains high until we all pitch in to fix the place.

God is all Heart. When we lose sight of this, bitterness can set in. We need someone to blame, and so we turn in anger at God, who even then does not blame us for our anger. The all-compassionate Heart holds us close so that our broken hearts can be whole once more.

In mourning, it’s hard to imagine that we can ever be our whole selves again, and we fear that we will spend the rest of our days far from our loved one and far from the selves we once were. But hold onto the idea that we are all one. No one ever leaves us completely or forever.

The people in our lives help us to become who we are. They bring out sides of us. Our loved ones help us to experience life; they mediate the process by which we become ourselves. We couldn’t imagine being who we now are if they had never shared our journey.

We all face loss. There is an ongoing sadness at the root of all humanity, the emotional scarring of a life of inevitable mourning. People deal with it differently or not at all, but it is there, a weight that we all bear if we are normal, healthy and able to form attachments.

There are good people who see your brokenness and who want to make it possible for you to just get through the day. Let them. It’s uncomfortable to be on the receiving end and to admit that you can’t do it all on your own. But it’s also a relief to not have to do it on your own.

When you are in the midst of crisis and pain, it’s very hard to see what’s happening; you are too busy fighting to stay afloat. But once that is over, it’s worth it to look back and try to see what helped you to get through. See that there were a lot of unexpected kindnesses.

But suppose our regular stance in life was to bless rather than curse? Suppose we approached the world and all of the daily injustices of life with an attitude of absorbing toxicity and releasing compassion? That would be a major change, right in our personal living space.

Most of the beauty of spring that touches our spirits and lifts us up is not from the flowers that people have just planted. The sweetest beauty is when we start to see the flowers that have survived the winter, springing out of the cold, barren ground and starting all over again

In the storm of crisis there is at least one good thing: all storms come to an end. It may feel like it will go on forever, but something changes and some light begins to break through. Some patches of blue sky start to open up, and the sea becomes gradually more manageable.

When you have been to the dark place of personal anguish, it is no longer entertaining or amusing to see other people being injured, tortured, killed or annihilated in film, television or in any form of media, because you can see the larger picture of the senselessness of it all.