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Aspiration

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Also: Dreaming

Aspiration is a hunger to fulfil our dreams and visions. When we aspire to a goal, any goal, that aspiration guides our decisions and directs our energy. Quite often it also rallies others to the same goal, then becomes the focus of shared efforts and satisfactions.


One of the wonders of being human is our ability to conjure from our imaginations a better self or a better world and to set off on a path, however crooked or obscure, from here to there. Some of our dreams are small and personal, others encompass the whole of humanity. Each gives us a sense of purpose, an answer to the question, "Why?"

Aspiration

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Aspiration - Wonder - Insight
The Real Work
It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

The Real Work

It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Source

Source type: Book
Collected Poems
Published by North Point Press , 1987
http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Poems-Wendell-Berry-1957-1982/dp/0865471975/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258108474&sr=8-1
Contribution #3619

Source (click to close)

Source type: Book
Collected Poems
Published by North Point Press , 1987
http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Poems-Wendell-Berry-1957-1982/dp/0865471975/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258108474&sr=8-1
Contribution #3619


Aspiration
What We Want
What we want
is never simple.
We move among the things
we thought we wanted:
a face, a room, an open book
and these things bear our names—
now they want us.
But what we want appears
in dreams, wearing disguises.
We fall past,
holding out our arms
and in the morning
our arms ache.
We don’t remember the dream,
but the dream remembers us.
It is there all day
as an animal is there
under the table,
as the stars are there
even in full sun.

What We Want

What we want
is never simple.
We move among the things
we thought we wanted:
a face, a room, an open book
and these things bear our names—
now they want us.
But what we want appears
in dreams, wearing disguises.
We fall past,
holding out our arms
and in the morning
our arms ache.
We don’t remember the dream,
but the dream remembers us.
It is there all day
as an animal is there
under the table,
as the stars are there
even in full sun.

Source

Source type: Book
Carnival Evening
Published by Norton
http://
Contribution #3252

Source (click to close)

Source type: Book
Carnival Evening
Published by Norton
http://
Contribution #3252


Acceptance - Aspiration - Balance - Caring - Compassion - Confidence
Seeing with clarity, a practice discipline

  • Learn to love the world.

  • Every life has a story, every story is important.

  • Don’t judge others, love them.

  • Don’t try to be profound, just be true.

  • Treat everyone with dignity and respect.

  • There are no ordinary people, there are only extraordinary ones.

  • Remember to laugh and to see humor in everyday things.

  • Be a servant.

      • © 2008 by George Polley; from an earlier version copyrighted by the author in 1999.

      Seeing with clarity, a practice discipline

    • Learn to love the world.

    • Every life has a story, every story is important.

    • Don’t judge others, love them.

    • Don’t try to be profound, just be true.

    • Treat everyone with dignity and respect.

    • There are no ordinary people, there are only extraordinary ones.

    • Remember to laugh and to see humor in everyday things.

    • Be a servant.

        • © 2008 by George Polley; from an earlier version copyrighted by the author in 1999.

        Source

        I wrote and published it originally in 1999, adding the second line in 2008.
        Contribution #3226

        Source (click to close)

        I wrote and published it originally in 1999, adding the second line in 2008.
        Contribution #3226


        Aspiration - Action - Initiative
        As daylight fades and twilight approaches,
        Swift and steady night soon encroaches,
        So seize this moment and contemplate your next,
        What will you do with the moments you have left?
        For no gravestone could ever eulogize,
        The death of great dreams unrealized.

        As daylight fades and twilight approaches,
        Swift and steady night soon encroaches,
        So seize this moment and contemplate your next,
        What will you do with the moments you have left?
        For no gravestone could ever eulogize,
        The death of great dreams unrealized.

        Source

        Source type: Website
        ExChristian.net
        Shannon Hughes
        "Faith Without God"
        http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2009/04/faith-without-god.html
        Viewed on May 24, 2009
        Contribution #3218

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        ExChristian.net
        Shannon Hughes
        "Faith Without God"
        http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2009/04/faith-without-god.html
        Viewed on May 24, 2009
        Contribution #3218


        Aspiration - Devotion - Diligence - Action - Faith - Vision
        Yes, We Can
        When we have faced down impossible odds,
        when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with
        a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
        Yes, we can.
        Yes, we can.
        Yes, we can.

        It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation:  
        Yes, we can.

        It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights:
        Yes, we can.

        It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness:
        Yes, we can.

        It was the call of workers who organized,
        women who reached for the ballot,
        a president who chose the moon as our new frontier,
        and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land:

        Yes, we can, to justice and equality.
        Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity.
        Yes, we can heal this nation.
        Yes, we can repair this world.
        Yes, we can.

        Yes, We Can

        When we have faced down impossible odds,
        when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with
        a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
        Yes, we can.
        Yes, we can.
        Yes, we can.

        It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation:  
        Yes, we can.

        It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights:
        Yes, we can.

        It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness:
        Yes, we can.

        It was the call of workers who organized,
        women who reached for the ballot,
        a president who chose the moon as our new frontier,
        and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land:

        Yes, we can, to justice and equality.
        Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity.
        Yes, we can heal this nation.
        Yes, we can repair this world.
        Yes, we can.

        Source

        Source type: Website
        <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/08text-obama.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1"> New York Times </a>
        "Barack Obama’s New Hampshire Primary Speech"
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY
        Viewed on January 19, 2009
        Contribution #2886

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/08text-obama.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1"> New York Times </a>
        "Barack Obama’s New Hampshire Primary Speech"
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY
        Viewed on January 19, 2009
        Contribution #2886


        Aspiration - Cooperation - Courage - Faith - Unity
        Flourishing in Crisis

        Now is the moment to start.
        Imagine a pathway through the thick underbrush
        of world events and manipulations

        Where we, the loving inhabitants
        the good, the decent, those with conscience
        vision, hope and longing

        Can come together
        in a dialogue of honest evaluation
        fearless in facing what is happening.

        Once we understand what is taking place on earth,
        and lose the last of our illusions
        real adult dream-building can begin.

        Let us hold hands to have the strength
        to get past our denial, fears, anger, blame,
        grieving

        to imagine that we can Flourish
        in a world that is seemingly
        falling apart.

        Now in a world full of less,
        perhaps we can experience more of the best in us,
        the fulfillment of what we were each created for.

        Here your DREAMS are welcomed,
        Your IDEAS are allowed to develop.
        OUR friendship and harmony will sustain us.

        I am with you in this process.
        Love,
        JGrace

        Flourishing in Crisis

        Now is the moment to start.
        Imagine a pathway through the thick underbrush
        of world events and manipulations

        Where we, the loving inhabitants
        the good, the decent, those with conscience
        vision, hope and longing

        Can come together
        in a dialogue of honest evaluation
        fearless in facing what is happening.

        Once we understand what is taking place on earth,
        and lose the last of our illusions
        real adult dream-building can begin.

        Let us hold hands to have the strength
        to get past our denial, fears, anger, blame,
        grieving

        to imagine that we can Flourish
        in a world that is seemingly
        falling apart.

        Now in a world full of less,
        perhaps we can experience more of the best in us,
        the fulfillment of what we were each created for.

        Here your DREAMS are welcomed,
        Your IDEAS are allowed to develop.
        OUR friendship and harmony will sustain us.

        I am with you in this process.
        Love,
        JGrace

        Source

        Source type: Website
        Reprinted in Daily Inspiration, January 1, 2009, ed. Josh Mitteldorf
        "Flourishing in Crisis, August 1, 2008"
        http://daily-inspiration.org/
        Viewed on January 11, 2009
        Contribution #2842

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Reprinted in Daily Inspiration, January 1, 2009, ed. Josh Mitteldorf
        "Flourishing in Crisis, August 1, 2008"
        http://daily-inspiration.org/
        Viewed on January 11, 2009
        Contribution #2842


        Aspiration - Insight - Curiosity
        Sabbatical
        The spaciousness of his sabbatical,
        Which seemed an infinite opportunity
        For wandering, exploring, growing full
        Of wonders and new learning, set him free,
        And he ranged widely through all kinds of reading,
        As books stacked up around his study chair,
        But couldn’t see where his pursuit was leading
        Until he sat to write, for only there
        Would he gain clarity and make some sense
        According to the hunger in his soul
        That yearned for comprehensive evidence
        The Cosmos has a purpose and a goal
        And human beings play a destined part—
        Which he found not in books, but in his heart.

        Sabbatical

        The spaciousness of his sabbatical,
        Which seemed an infinite opportunity
        For wandering, exploring, growing full
        Of wonders and new learning, set him free,
        And he ranged widely through all kinds of reading,
        As books stacked up around his study chair,
        But couldn’t see where his pursuit was leading
        Until he sat to write, for only there
        Would he gain clarity and make some sense
        According to the hunger in his soul
        That yearned for comprehensive evidence
        The Cosmos has a purpose and a goal
        And human beings play a destined part—
        Which he found not in books, but in his heart.

        Source

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog - Saturday, August 30, 2008"
        http://www.alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com
        Viewed on November 8, 2008
        Contribution #2557

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog - Saturday, August 30, 2008"
        http://www.alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com
        Viewed on November 8, 2008
        Contribution #2557


        Aspiration - Wonder - Insight - Moderation - Curiosity
        Wrtten in the Stars and Spheres
        Can faith embrace, endure the notion that
        momentum, not chariots, guide the spheres?
        Not design, but purposeless accident --
        Multiple molecular defects -- pierce
        Species divide? A new and wonderful
        Creature, its defects recast as progress?
        Stars, fixed by faith upon heaven's mural,
        Reveal by spectral shift their swift egress
        O'er time a million lengths of hist'ry stacked,
        From a Big Bang, which faith ascribes to God.
        My engineer's mind ponders cause, not fact.
        Through other minds' creative acts I plod,
        Faithfully finding something to improve.
        Creative purpose we assess, not prove.

        As sonnet's length abridges tract,
        So too my thoughts don't closure reach.
        Assigning nature's forms to act
        Of God, draws greater pow'r to teach,
        As engineer learns from design
        Of building, its designer's mind.

        Wrtten in the Stars and Spheres

        Can faith embrace, endure the notion that
        momentum, not chariots, guide the spheres?
        Not design, but purposeless accident --
        Multiple molecular defects -- pierce
        Species divide? A new and wonderful
        Creature, its defects recast as progress?
        Stars, fixed by faith upon heaven's mural,
        Reveal by spectral shift their swift egress
        O'er time a million lengths of hist'ry stacked,
        From a Big Bang, which faith ascribes to God.
        My engineer's mind ponders cause, not fact.
        Through other minds' creative acts I plod,
        Faithfully finding something to improve.
        Creative purpose we assess, not prove.

        As sonnet's length abridges tract,
        So too my thoughts don't closure reach.
        Assigning nature's forms to act
        Of God, draws greater pow'r to teach,
        As engineer learns from design
        Of building, its designer's mind.

        Source

        No source entered for Contribution #2299

        Source (click to close)

        No source entered for Contribution #2299


        Aspiration - Balance
        The Search
        What’s selfish and what’s selfless still contend
        In me, and doubtless ever will, un-Zenned
        Into a tranquil equilibrium
        Where Yang and Yin transcend the zero sum.

        For still it’s win or lose and keeping score,
        Untempered by the koan Less is More;
        And still it’s past and future, not the Now,
        Which scheming and redreaming won’t allow.

        But then, would I be writing if I’d found
        The blissful stasis of the sacred Ground,
        And would I then be willing to give up
        My constant questing for some Holy Cup?

        Or is my greatest pleasure still the search,
        Disdaining the bland comfort of a perch?

        The Search

        What’s selfish and what’s selfless still contend
        In me, and doubtless ever will, un-Zenned
        Into a tranquil equilibrium
        Where Yang and Yin transcend the zero sum.

        For still it’s win or lose and keeping score,
        Untempered by the koan Less is More;
        And still it’s past and future, not the Now,
        Which scheming and redreaming won’t allow.

        But then, would I be writing if I’d found
        The blissful stasis of the sacred Ground,
        And would I then be willing to give up
        My constant questing for some Holy Cup?

        Or is my greatest pleasure still the search,
        Disdaining the bland comfort of a perch?

        Source

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog"
        http://alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-04-15T02%3A52%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
        Viewed on June 13, 2008
        Contribution #1504

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog"
        http://alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-04-15T02%3A52%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
        Viewed on June 13, 2008
        Contribution #1504


        Aspiration - Action - Virtue
        Toward Godhood
        What am I doing to project the light
        Of wisdom in the world? What new insight
        Have I discovered, what fresh view revealed
        Or ancient truth recovered, long concealed?

        Is not all this the business of my brain,
        To learn and teach how to become more sane
        And thus alleviate our ancient sin
        In which, old scriptures claim, our lives begin?

        I think the truth of that is otherwise:
        We’re not born bad and surely must revise
        The premise of our living in this world
        To one that shows new virtues being unfurled

        With progress and advance our destiny,
        And godliness our source of liberty.

        Toward Godhood

        What am I doing to project the light
        Of wisdom in the world? What new insight
        Have I discovered, what fresh view revealed
        Or ancient truth recovered, long concealed?

        Is not all this the business of my brain,
        To learn and teach how to become more sane
        And thus alleviate our ancient sin
        In which, old scriptures claim, our lives begin?

        I think the truth of that is otherwise:
        We’re not born bad and surely must revise
        The premise of our living in this world
        To one that shows new virtues being unfurled

        With progress and advance our destiny,
        And godliness our source of liberty.

        Source

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog"
        http://alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-04-28T04%3A29%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
        Viewed on June 13, 2008
        Contribution #1500

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog"
        http://alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-04-28T04%3A29%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
        Viewed on June 13, 2008
        Contribution #1500


        Aspiration - Growth
        Learning to Fly
        I do believe the human soul evolves:
        That in one lifetime (and perhaps some others)
        It strives for health and wholeness, which resolves
        An issue over which cool reason hovers.

        What reason can’t conceive, I shall believe;
        It looks around for better evidence
        And sees how many never do achieve
        Such wisdom (not to mention common sense),

        And it despairs of our potential to
        Awake, arise and fly to something higher,
        To reach a keener consciousness and do
        What proves we can transcend this Earthly mire.

        The best that I can do is live as if
        My soul can fly, as I approach the cliff.

        Learning to Fly

        I do believe the human soul evolves:
        That in one lifetime (and perhaps some others)
        It strives for health and wholeness, which resolves
        An issue over which cool reason hovers.

        What reason can’t conceive, I shall believe;
        It looks around for better evidence
        And sees how many never do achieve
        Such wisdom (not to mention common sense),

        And it despairs of our potential to
        Awake, arise and fly to something higher,
        To reach a keener consciousness and do
        What proves we can transcend this Earthly mire.

        The best that I can do is live as if
        My soul can fly, as I approach the cliff.

        Source

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog"
        http://alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-05-03T05%3A18%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
        Viewed on June 13, 2008
        Contribution #1493

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Alan Nordstrom
        "Alan Nordstrom's Blog"
        http://alan-nordstrom.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-05-03T05%3A18%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
        Viewed on June 13, 2008
        Contribution #1493


        Aspiration - Mindfulness - Self-Discipline - Serenity - Simplicity - Harmony
        A letter to Barbara
        Been thinking warm thoughts of you.

        Been hoping health is with you.

        From the letters I received
        your days are flowing like a river.

        Ahhh, the beauty of sun reflecting rivers.

        I have seen Zen masters' smiles along such waters.

        I have seen student's thoughts at the waterfall - flowing.

        Oh the composure students must have.

        How does water fall without letting go?

        This is my stone.

        A letter to Barbara

        Been thinking warm thoughts of you.

        Been hoping health is with you.

        From the letters I received
        your days are flowing like a river.

        Ahhh, the beauty of sun reflecting rivers.

        I have seen Zen masters' smiles along such waters.

        I have seen student's thoughts at the waterfall - flowing.

        Oh the composure students must have.

        How does water fall without letting go?

        This is my stone.

        Source

        Letters from my youth
        Contribution #1321

        Source (click to close)

        Letters from my youth
        Contribution #1321


        Aspiration - Courage
        Our Deepest Fear
        Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
        Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
        It is our light, not our darkness That most frightens us.
        We ask ourselves
        Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
        Actually, who are you not to be?
        You are a child of God.
        Your playing small Does not serve the world.
        There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
        So that other people won't feel insecure around you.
        We are all meant to shine,
        As children do.
        We were born to make manifest
        The glory of God that is within us.
        It's not just in some of us;
        It's in everyone.
        And as we let our own light shine,
        We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
        As we're liberated from our own fear,
        Our presence automatically liberates others.

        Our Deepest Fear

        Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
        Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
        It is our light, not our darkness That most frightens us.
        We ask ourselves
        Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
        Actually, who are you not to be?
        You are a child of God.
        Your playing small Does not serve the world.
        There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
        So that other people won't feel insecure around you.
        We are all meant to shine,
        As children do.
        We were born to make manifest
        The glory of God that is within us.
        It's not just in some of us;
        It's in everyone.
        And as we let our own light shine,
        We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
        As we're liberated from our own fear,
        Our presence automatically liberates others.

        Source

        No source entered for Contribution #771

        Source (click to close)

        No source entered for Contribution #771


        Aspiration - Confidence - Excellence - Faith - Gratitude - Growth
        I Promise Myself

        I Promise Myself
        To forget the mistakes of the past and press on
        to the greater achievements of the future.
        To wear a cheerful expression at all times
        and give a smile to every living creature I meet.
        To give so much time to improving myself
        that I have no time to criticize others.
        To be too large for worry, too noble for anger,
        too strong for fear, and too happy to permit
        the presence of trouble.
        To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
        not in loud words, but in great deeds.
        To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side,
        so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

        I Promise Myself

        I Promise Myself
        To forget the mistakes of the past and press on
        to the greater achievements of the future.
        To wear a cheerful expression at all times
        and give a smile to every living creature I meet.
        To give so much time to improving myself
        that I have no time to criticize others.
        To be too large for worry, too noble for anger,
        too strong for fear, and too happy to permit
        the presence of trouble.
        To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
        not in loud words, but in great deeds.
        To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side,
        so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

        Source

        No source entered for Contribution #439

        Source (click to close)

        No source entered for Contribution #439


        Aspiration
        What Do I See
        What do I see, when I look at me
        So many things I aspire to be
        I can only be me, this is only fair
        To be perfect is a burden, much to heavy to bear
        I am just myself, I want to be happy with that
        Because, I am, who I am, and that's just fact
        What do I see, when I look at me
        I see the person I aspire to be
        I am strong and intense, I am proud and fair
        I will accomplish the dreams, that I once wouldn't dare
        I will rise above my own misconceptions
        I will learn to love my imperfections
        What do I see, when I look at me
        I see the best that I can be
        For that is who I aspire to be

        What Do I See

        What do I see, when I look at me
        So many things I aspire to be
        I can only be me, this is only fair
        To be perfect is a burden, much to heavy to bear
        I am just myself, I want to be happy with that
        Because, I am, who I am, and that's just fact
        What do I see, when I look at me
        I see the person I aspire to be
        I am strong and intense, I am proud and fair
        I will accomplish the dreams, that I once wouldn't dare
        I will rise above my own misconceptions
        I will learn to love my imperfections
        What do I see, when I look at me
        I see the best that I can be
        For that is who I aspire to be

        Source

        Source type: Website
        Ronda Ross
        Viewed on March 31, 2008
        Contribution #75

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Ronda Ross
        Viewed on March 31, 2008
        Contribution #75


        Aspiration
        Dreams
        Dreams are something to desire
        It gives you something to aspire
        Everyday you let them be
        They'll drift away from you and me.

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Jordan Bailey
        Viewed on March 31, 2008
        Contribution #72


        Aspiration
        Dreams
        Hold fast to dreams
        For if dreams die
        Life is a broken-winged bird
        That cannot fly.
        Hold fast to dreams
        For when dreams go
        Life is a barren field
        Frozen with snow.

        Source (click to close)

        Source type: Website
        Langston Hughes
        Viewed on March 31, 2008
        Contribution #69