Poetry Sunday!

Sunday, October 2nd, 2022

It’s been a long time since we hosted a Poetry Sunday, which folks have always enjoyed. Everyone is invited to bring a few of their favorite poems or writings to share (your own or another favorite author of yours) and perhaps tell us why they are meaningful in your life. We’ll also be having a potluck ~ maybe the last of the season outdoors, so come celebrate and break bread with us!
Happy Autumn, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
~ Leonardo da Vinci

“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.”
~ Robert Frost

“If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.”
~ Charles Darwin

“…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?”
~ Vincent Willem van Gogh

“Always be a poet, even in prose.”
~ Charles Baudelaire

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Paths of Heart Sunday Schedule, 10:30 a.m.,
117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524

October 2nd – in person, Poetry Sunday!, potluck after gathering.
October 9th – ZOOM gathering, The Fifth Agreement (bonus!)
October 16th and 23rd – No Paths of Heart
October 30th – Dia de los Muertos Celebration. If all goes as planned, Judi Lucero will join us from Grand Junction to share words and music!

Current Mask Policy
We are leaving it up to attendees whether they want to mask or not. Please do what makes you most comfortable.

Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart continues (in our 9th year now!) solely through your generous donations. What an amazing thing! Several survey participants expressed interest in signing up for regular monthly donations and we gratefully welcome that! During the pandemic, online donations became increasingly important to our organization, and are always gratefully accepted on our website, https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/. Once you are on our PayPal site, there will be an option for recurring monthly donations. If you find value in what we do here at Paths of Heart, please consider donating to keep our non-profit running smoothly, with grace and ease. Thanks so much for supporting the continuation of Paths of Heart. Remember, we are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax deductible.

Two ways you can further support Paths of Heart are detailed below:

King Soopers Community Rewards Program
If you shop at KS and have a rewards card, you can “link” it to Paths of Heart and King Soopers will donate a portion of your dollars spent (around 5%) to our non-profit. Go to https://www.kingsoopers.com/i/community/community-rewards to sign up and link your card. Our organization name is Paths of Heart and organization number is RG782. Let us know if you want help signing up!

Amazon Smile
We do love shopping locally and very often do, but Amazon sometimes fits the bill. If you are an Amazon shopper, you can make a difference by shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/81-4175487 to generate donations for Paths of Heart!

“Paths of Heart” Labyrinth and Zen Meditation Garden
This was intentioned to be a community space, so know that you are always welcome to drop by and walk or sit – you do not need to let us know in advance. Do note that we have experienced the outer “halo” of glass blocks in the labyrinth to be slippery when wet, so it’s best to walk it on a dry day (not usually a problem in Colorado!). We also welcome volunteers to help keep our labyrinth looking beautiful and free of debris and weeds. Thank you!

Sending prayers and affirmations
If anyone would like to receive our collective positive thoughts and prayers on a Sunday morning, please ask! We can be as specific or as anonymous as you’d like. Let us know if we can surround you and your loved ones in love and light!

Gratitudes

What a joy it was to spend time with extended family at The Crosson Reunion in Rhode Island last weekend!! We celebrated “deep roots and strong branches”, met new family members, and made many memorable connections.

What are you grateful for today?

“I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy.”
~ Will Arnett

“When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.”
~ Kristin Armstrong

“Gratitude can lead you, as it did me, away from the darkness of complicated need into the light of Simple Abundance.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

About Paths of Heart…

Paths of Heart is a high spirited, heart-centered community where we gather together (in new and creative ways!) for music, poetry, commentary, and dialogue to create and nurture joy, compassion, gratitude, and love – in our own lives and throughout the world. Paths of Heart is a 501(c)(3) Human Services/Educational non-profit organization that uses the arts, especially, to encourage and propel seekers of a better, more peaceful world to find ways to serve, while becoming more kind and compassionate human beings.

We welcome you as we collectively and individually explore the sweet mysteries of life – this is an invitation into co-creation!

Visit us on the web at https://www.pathsofheart.org
We hope our physical paths may cross soon!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

09/08/202209/11/2022

The Fourth Agreement: Always Do Your Best

Sunday, September 11th, 2022

We continue our series on Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements with the fourth agreement, “Always Do Your Best.” Ruiz notes, “Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.” We invite you to join in on our ZOOM conversation this Sunday, at 10:30 a.m. Here’s the link:

Paths ZOOM
Time: Sep 11, 2022 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83107985276?pwd=OHdHYndTMG1VL04zc0Z6UzdZellNZz09
Meeting ID: 831 0798 5276
Passcode: 552277

We’ll also commemorate 9/11 with our rendition of Mark Erelli’s beautiful and moving song “The Only Way”, which is essentially about doing your best!
Best, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Today is all you have. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Just do the best you can right now. One day, one moment at a time.”
~ Akiroq Brost

“Your choices and efforts, be they small or grand, mold and define who you are. Poor choices and minimal effort will result in the poorest version of you. Mediocre choices combined with doing just-enough-to-get-by will create a mediocre you. To be the best version of yourself, to reach your greater potential, make the very best choices possible. Put forth your highest efforts in everything. Be intentionally productive with the time you have. Work to do your best!”
~ Richelle E. Goodrich

“Beautiful; why yes, but not because of the radiance of my exterior housing. Rather for the kindness of my spirit and the golden heart resting in my chest for from it pours forth my very best.”
~ Sai Marie Johnson

“Take no past regrets to the current state,
Embrace the lessons, start afresh,
And do your best.”
~ Aisha S. Kingu

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Paths of Heart Sunday Schedule, 10:30 a.m.,
117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524

September 11th – ZOOM gathering
September 18th and 25th – No Paths of Heart
October 2nd – in person, Poetry Sunday!, potluck after gathering.
October 9th – ZOOM gathering, The Fifth Agreement (bonus!)
October 16th and 23rd – No Paths of Heart
October 30th – Dia de los Muertos Celebration. If all goes as planned, Judi Lucero will join us from Grand Junction to share words and music!

Current Mask Policy
Though Covid cases continue to be at a high level in Larimer County, most resultant illnesses seem to be generally mild, and we are leaving it up to attendees whether they want to mask or not.

Two ways you can further support Paths of Heart are detailed below:

Gratitudes

The organization bug bit us this past week and we are getting LOTS accomplished! Feels so good!

What are you grateful for today?

“I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy.”
~ Will Arnett

“When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.”
~ Kristin Armstrong

“Gratitude can lead you, as it did me, away from the darkness of complicated need into the light of Simple Abundance.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

About Paths of Heart…

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

09/01/202209/02/2022

The Third Agreement: Don’t Make Assumptions

Sunday, September 4th, 2022

We continue our series on Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements with the third agreement, “Don’t Make Assumptions.” Ruiz adds, “Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.” We invite you to join in the conversation this Sunday, in person, at 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO.
Love and Light, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”
~ Isaac Asimov

“If others tell us something we make assumptions, and if they don’t tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate. Even if we hear something and we don’t understand we make assumptions about what it means and then believe the assumptions. We make all sorts of assumptions because we don’t have the courage to ask questions.”
~ Miguel Ruiz

“The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct.”
~ Franciscan friar William of Ockham

“Don’t build roadblocks out of assumptions.”
~ Lorii Myers

“Ask if you need to, but don’t assume. Sometimes our bad feelings are only assumptions and speculations doing dark dances in our heads.”
~ Bonnie Lyn Smith

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Paths of Heart Sunday Schedule, 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524

September 4th – in person
September 11th – ZOOM gathering
September 18th and 25th – No Paths of Heart
October 2nd – in person, Poetry Sunday!, potluck after gathering.

Two ways you can further support Paths of Heart are detailed below:

Gratitudes

Fun family gigs as well as opportunities to enjoy other artists and concerts these last couple of weeks! Grateful for the gift of MUSIC!

What are you grateful for today?

“I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy.”
~ Will Arnett

“When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.”
~ Kristin Armstrong

“Gratitude can lead you, as it did me, away from the darkness of complicated need into the light of Simple Abundance.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach