February 12, 2023

Being the avid sports fans that we are (NOT!), we didn’t realize the Super Bowl was this Sunday, when we will have our first in-person Paths of Heart Gathering and Potluck since last October! We’re thinking it’s probably later in the afternoon anyway, and may not be a “deal breaker” for most of you, but if so, we apologize for the conflict… 🙂 This week we’ll be talking about love (surprise, surprise!) and also checking in on the Season for Non-Violence and reviewing the week’s words associated with that. We had a great discussion last week on Zoom and what a joy to see your smiling faces!

Also, here’s your last reminder about our upcoming house concert this very Saturday, February 11th! There is a suggested love offering of $20 per person and we do appreciate RSVPs. If you’d like to donate in advance, you can do so with venmo: @PathsofHeart or paypal: https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ (mention “concert” in special instructions) or by sending a check to Paths of Heart at 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524. Thank you! The concert will start at 7 with a potluck of “finger foods” at 6 for those who’d like to come early and visit pre-concert.

With Gratitude, Love, and Light, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (how beautiful that this quote has fit in with the theme for the last 3 newsletters! It always comes down to love…)

“Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.”
~ Louise L. Hay

“Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.”
~ Ann Landers

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.”
~ Buddha

“Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Paths of Heart is in the midst of a “sabbatical” from regular Sunday gatherings, though we have recently scheduled a “sprinkling” of gatherings as our financial resources improve. We miss you!! You can read more about our decision here: https://www.pathsofheart.org/2022/10/11/important-paths-of-heart-update/

As our financial situation improves, we hope to reintroduce regular Sunday gatherings, and in the meantime, we have planned several other events to keep our community engaged and thriving. See below and mark your calendars!

Saturday, February 11th, 7 pm (“finger foods” potluck at 6) – “Paths of Heart Presents…” a Celebration of LOVE House Concert. Join Mark and Colleen in a lovefest of love songs to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Sunday, February 12th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, followed by Community Potluck 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins. Please bring a yummy dish to share AND your own washable plate. We’ll have utensils, cloth napkins, cups, and a variety of beverages on hand.

We’ve restarted our Paths of Heart Song Circles, usually the last Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 pm! Come join us for an informal gathering of singing together. Bring your life affirming song suggestions! $10 suggested donation. We will provide a variety of teas to drink.
February 14th (date change due to scheduling conflict)). Turns out Mark has a gig this night as well, but Colleen will still host!
March 28th
April 25th

Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart will continue to welcome and appreciate your generous donations as we work to bolster our finances and get back to Sunday gatherings at some point in the future. During the pandemic, online donations became increasingly important to our organization, and are always gratefully accepted on our website, https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/. There is an option for recurring monthly donations, if you so choose. We have also added Venmo as a way to easily donate to Paths of Heart! Just type in @PathsofHeart to find us in the Venmo app. 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
Amazon has decided to end its Amazon Smile Program by 2/20/23. Till then, 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. Unfortunately, it’s been covered with snow much of this winter. Hoping for some melting soon!

Gratitudes

We were grateful to have so many participate in our Zoom meeting last week. How wonderful to see you all again!

What are you grateful for today?

“Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual curiosity, and never stop learning.”
~ GZA

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
~ John F. Kennedy

“When I pray, I always thank Mother Nature for all the beauty in the world. It’s about having an attitude of gratitude.”
~ Miranda Kerr

“This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before.”
~ Maya Angelou

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

We are excited to have you join us for our first Paths of Heart Gathering in quite a while, tomorrow, February 5th on ZOOM! Here’s the link:
Time: Feb 5, 2023 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87220354401?pwd=TXFPS1diNDBKSUhtWUEyTEJxRjM3dz09
Meeting ID: 872 2035 4401
Passcode: 251718

We thought a timely topic would be the Season for Non-Violence, ” a global grassroots campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the transformative power of nonviolence. The Season was established by Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, as a yearly event celebrating the philosophies and lives of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
Since 1998, the Season has marked the 64 calendar days between the memorial anniversary of the assassination of Gandhi on January 30 and that of King on April 4.” (gandhifoundation.ca)

Having just visited the National Civil Rights museum in Memphis, housed in the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated, this holds even deeper personal meaning to us now. What a powerful and extremely emotional day it was. We hope you can join us in conversation tomorrow.

** Here’s a reminder that we’ll also have an in-person gathering on February 12th at 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr. in Fort Collins, followed by a potluck lunch. Details in Looking Ahead section below.

And we hope you’ve got our upcoming house concert on your calendars for February 11th! There is a suggested love offering of $20 per person and we do appreciate RSVPs. If you’d like to donate in advance, you can do so with venmo: @PathsofHeart or paypal: https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ (mention “concert” in special instructions) or by sending a check to Paths of Heart at 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524. Thank you! The concert will start at 7 with a potluck of “finger foods” at 6 for those who’d like to come early and visit pre-concert.

With Gratitude, Love, and Light, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

As our financial situation improves, we hope to reintroduce Sunday gatherings, and in the meantime, we have planned many other events to keep our community engaged and thriving. See below and mark your calendars!

Sunday, February 5th – ZOOM Paths of Heart gathering, 10:30 a.m. See link above.

Sunday, February 12th – In Person Paths of Heart Gathering, 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, followed by a lunch potluck. It really helps if you bring your own washable plates to use! We have plenty of utensils, cups, and napkins. We’ll also provide a variety of drinks. Please bring a favorite dish to share, thanks!