"Fireflies", Lori McKenna

from, "A Walk in the Woods"

"Still, quite a lot of the original impulse behind MacKaye's version survives. All 2,100 miles of the trail, as well as side trails, footbridges, signs, blazes, and shelters, are maintained by volunteers - indeed, the AT is said to be the largest volunteer-run undertaking on the planet. It remains gloriously free of commercialism. The Appalachian Trail Conference didn't hire it's first employee until 1968, and it retains the air of a friendly, accessible, dedicated outfit. The AT is no longer the longest hiking trail - the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails, both out West, are slightly longer - but it will always be the first and greatest. It has a lot of friends. It deserves them."
~Bill Bryson

Fuel, "Shimmer"

One of my very favorites... love to get lost in this song.

Today, lots of thinking and constant reading. Here's what I have to share:

In the night when union comes,
a lover is lost inside what leaves no trace.

In that night the lover sees the stars from the inside out,
as the lightpoints in his eyes, her eyes.
~Rumi: The Big Red Book (Trans. Coleman Barks) pg 404

Lovers in their brief delight
gamble both worlds away,
a century's worth of work
for one chance to surrender.

Many slow-growth stages
build to quick bursts of blossom.

A thousand half-loves must be forsaken
to take one whole heart home.
~Rumi: The Big Red Book (Trans. Coleman Barks) pgs 453-454

I could not have known what love is
if I had never felt this longing.

Anything done to excess becomes boring,
except this overflow that moves toward you.
~Rumi: The Big Red Book (Trans. Coleman Barks) Pg 461

Above photo: "It was cold, winter morning" by mala-lesbia at deviantArt.

from, Quatrains (Rubai)

If you want what visible reality can give,
you are an employee.
If you want the unseen world,
you are not living your truth.

Both wishes are foolish,
but you will be forgiven for forgetting
that what you really want is love's confusing joy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gamble everything for love,
if you are a true human being.
If not, leave this gathering.
Half-heartedness does not reach into majesty.
You set out to find God,
then you keep stopping for long periods
at mean-spirited roadhouses.
Rumi: The Big Red Book 
Translated by Coleman Barks
Pg 457

from, "I Keep Using Two Pronouns"

The universe swings again into your orbit.
Am I looking for you, or you for me?

The question is all wrong.
As long as I keep using two pronouns,
I am this in-between two-headed thing with no name.

Never think that you are worthless.
God has already bought you for an enormous amount.
Gifts keep arriving.

My face now makes the world's bathhouse hot.
Do not look at the wet paintings on the wall.
Look here.

There is a light in us that has nothing to do with night and day.
There are grapes that never saw a vineyard.
These gifts are yours now, if you can see.

We are all returning.

says the text. Enjoy Shams.
Or if not that, at least listen
to what honest people tell you.

Rumi: The Big Red Book
Translated by Coleman Barks
pgs 219-220

from, "Inside the Rose"

"But there are those in bodies who are pure soul.
It can happen. These messengers
invite us to walk with them. They say,
You may feel happy enough where you are,
but we can't do without you any longer. Please.

So we walk along inside the rose,
being pulled like the creeks and rivers are,
out from the town into the plain.

My guide, my soul, your only sadness
is when I am not walking with you.

In deep silence, with *some* exertion to stay in your company.
I could save you a lot of trouble."


Inside The Rose - Pg215
From Rumi: The Big Red Book
Translated by Coleman Barks