Category Archives: Literature

Inspirational literature collection relating to lifestyle themes.

On Living in the Present

On Living in the Present

living in the presentA Quote to Carry You

May 11, 2015

“‘What Day is it?’  “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.  “My favorite day.” said Pooh.”  A. A. Milne

On living in the present – There is a simplicity in living in the present; living each day as it comes.  I liken the ability to do that with having the heart of a child…something that all adults have experienced to some degree.  Imagine being able to awaken on Sunday morning and truly enjoy all of the blessings that unfold on that day of rest, rather that letting it quickly dwindle away because you’ve set your focus on the challenges that the start of the work week on Monday will bring. Or wouldn’t it be refreshing to take a walk in the rain without worrying that your hair will frizzle when it gets wet?  How about going ahead and splashing in the puddles without caring how muddy your clothes will get?  Or maybe try singing as loud as you want no matter who hears that you are terribly off key.  These are trivial things I know, but that’s my point.  In the whole scheme of things, are the “big” things in life that we worry about as important as we think?  Living in the present allows us to let go of the past, (it has gone, never to return), and stop grasping for the future, (it will arrive soon enough).  Why not give it a try?  You may find that living in the “present” really is a gift.

May you live today in the present…and may each day be your favorite one too.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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A Beautiful Thing

 

A Beautiful Thing

Photograph courtesy of Martin Watson

A beautiful thing…There is a certain freedom in having less rather than more. When all of the adornments have been stripped away…

“I thought I was rich because I had this one flower; but I see that all I have is an ordinary rose…”  Antoine de Saint-Exupery (The Little Prince)

A Beautiful Thing

What do you have when you think you haven’t anything?

What you have…is a beautiful thing.

There is a certain freedom in having less rather than more.

When all of the adornments have been stripped away;

and all that is left is the bare wood, or the rust colored clay.

What is left when the shelf is empty, when the wall is blank?

What is left…is a beautiful thing.

How can one make something from nothing?

“That’s impossible,” one might say.

I beg to differ, there is purity, there is strength, there is dignity;

for when all is exposed and left out to decay…

only the solid pieces remain…building blocks that sustain.

So what do you have when all you have left are shattered parts that once were whole?

There you have it…a beautiful thing…a new creation…from the old is born the new.

Felecia R. Weber 2015, OntheWingofaDove.com

“God can do more with an empty heart than a full one.” (Author Unknown)

Peace and love,

Felecia

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On Passion

On Passion

on passionA Quote to Carry You

March 23, 2015

“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.”  Emily Dickinson

On passion…What is it that drives you, that motivates you, that propels you forward?  What evokes your most powerful emotions and musters up for you an insatiable appetite?  Whatever your passion is, there is no substitute for it.  In fact, I believe that one cannot truly live without it.  I challenge you to seek out and feed that thing that is uniquely yours.  Passion, experience it, live it, share it and inspire those around you.

 

Peace and love,

Felecia

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On Belonging

On Belonging

on belongingA Quote to Carry You 

June 2, 2014

“That is part of the beauty of all literature.   You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone.  You belong.”  F. Scott Fitzgerald

Whether we realize it or not, we all belong to someone and we all impact those around us in some way by what we say, by what we do, and simply by who we are.  That is a pretty awesome responsibility when you think about it.  May you think of it often…

Peace,

Felecia

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To Be Or Not To Be

to be or not to be

“The Artist’s Wife and His Setter Dog,” (Detail), 1884-89, Thomas Eakins. Image from a page of the 2013 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

 

To be, or not to be…we all face life-changing challenges; those events that make us question who we really are…

“To be, or not to be:  that is the question…” (excerpt from “To Be Or Not To Be,” Spoken by Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1, by William Shakespeare)

To Be Or Not To Be

To be or not to be;

a strange thing to ponder; is it not?

The choices we make, the consequences they wrought;

does what we do make a difference, or is it all for naught?

To be or not to be;

a complicated question indeed.

To live our lives for ourselves, to make a way of our own;

or to live for others, serving them, providing all that they need.

To be or not to be;

is the whole concept more than that?

What we do, is not who we are, why do we do what we do?

To make a living, to find meaning, is that where it’s at?

To be or not to be;

will we ever know what it is all about?

The meaning to life, what each one of us is here for;

surely there is an answer, keep on searching and you’ll find out.

Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

“Now we see  a blurred image in a mirror.  Then we will see very clearly.  Now my knowledge is incomplete.  Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.”  1 Corinthians 13:12 

May you “be” today, all that you are meant to be.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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All The World’s a Stage

all the world's a stage

“Dark Clown,” 1980, drawing by Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

 

All the world’s a stage…we each have a part to play.

“I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; a stage where every man must play a part…” (from William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 1”)

All The World’s a Stage

All the world’s a stage.

We each have a part to play.

The script is written; we practice, we recite.

We act out each scene through the day and through the night.

All the world’s a stage.

Some roles we favor, and some we do not.

We gleam in the spotlight, we shine in its ray;

but we fade into darkness when the light goes away.

All the world’s a stage.

We perform without ceasing.

Even when the audience is near empty, and the applause is weak,

the show must go on…no matter what it is we seek.

All the world’s a stage.

We give our best; we give our all.

When the curtain starts closing; when the last line is said…

What is it in life that propels us ahead?

All the world’s a stage.

So what do you say to that?

What part do you play, a leading role per chance?

Whatever it may be, to the lives of others may it enhance.

Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

 

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Something More

Something More

“Seagulls in Flight,” photograph by David Brown

Something more…personal growth sometimes feels like going into the unknown…something challenging, something intriguing…something more.

“Jonathan Livingston Seagull, unashamed, stretching his wings again in that trembling hard curve–slowing, slowing, and stalling once more–was no ordinary bird.” (Excerpt taken from the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach)

Have you given much thought about what you want out of life?  Your limits; what you are capable of?  What if you dared to go beyond…to find something more? These are pretty challenging questions I know.  We all have various roles that we play in our daily lives.  The demands of each day cannot be set aside, and we must tend to them. We go about fulfilling the tasks at hand sometimes automatically, with little effort or thought put into each activity.  Before we know it, the sun has set, night has fallen, and a new day is on the horizon….with its own set of challenges.  How can we possibly go beyond all of that? Continue reading →

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A Bit of Myself

A Bit of Myself

Study of a Rose blossom, photograph by Martin Watson

A Bit of Myself…sharing the secrets of my soul.

I must admit that I have had a bit of a difficult time getting my thoughts down on paper for this post.  I knew what I wanted to say, but I just couldn’t seem to formulate the words. Thinking back on things that’d read or seen that would perhaps inspire me, I came across this excerpt from the classic story “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde:

Basil Hallward:  “every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter.  The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion.  It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the colored canvas, reveals himself.  The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.”

When I first read this passage, I must say that I had to reread it a couple of times and sort of catch my breath. Continue reading →

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