a simple sound...

“Lean your body forward slightly to support the guitar against your chest, for the poetry of the music should resound in your heart.”

- Andrés Segovia

One of the most soothing sounds to me is that of the guitar, especially when it's being played by someone other than me. I come from a musical family and have deep memories of parties going on downstairs while I tried to listen to the music through the floor or from the top of the stairs. The singing, the laughter, and of course, the guitar. To this day, the sound of my mom or dad strumming the guitar brings a smile to my face.

I own two guitars. One is on a stand in the living room, longing to be played; the other didn't come out of its case for over five years. That's just wrong. I've recently decided to sell my second guitar - it deserves to find a home that will honour its simple sound.

simply jag xox

a simple speed...

"As I make my slow pilgrimage through the world, a certain sense of beautiful mystery seems to gather and grow."

- A.C. Benson

One of the ways I seek to simplify my life is to remember to take it slow. There is no shame in slow. When I forget this, my body has a way of reminding me. Over the years, I have become attuned to the ebb & flow of my energy and I honour those times when I need to slow down - maybe even stop altogether. Days like yesterday.

simply jag xox

a simple reminder...

"Let us make a pledge that, if not all day or all night long, at least for a few moments every day, we will make an effort to experience love, love that is free from selfishness, free from desire, free from expectation, love that is complete freedom."

— Swami Chidvilasananda

I hate the amount of junk mail I get. It steals a measure of my serenity pretty much every day. I've been meaning to join the Red Dot Campaign for some time now, but I just haven't made the effort. Yet.

Yesterday, my procrastination worked in my favour... The Universe delivered this beautiful heart as a reminder of the centrality of Love in my life. It's a simple reminder. And now it's time to further simplify my life by reducing the amont of junk mail in it. :-)

simply jag
xox

a simple truth...

“We must never presume that we see. We must always be ready to see anew.”

- Richard Rohr, OFM

Life gets complicated when I think I know - even more so when I'm convinced I know. The simple truth is: I don't know squat. Part of my spiritual growth is to let go of the assumption that I already know. Adopting a practice of beginner's mind offers me the opportunity to learn to do just that, step by stumbling step...

simply jag xox

a simple teaching...

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

- Rumi

I heard the most beautiful - and simple - story ever yesterday.

I was listening to an old Tapestry interview featuring Coleman Barks, a world-reknowned interpreter of the poetry of Rumi. When speaking of his Teacher (whose name escapes me!), Mary Hynes (the host) asked him, "What did he teach you?" His answer imprinted on my heart:

"When I met him, he told me he loved me. And I told him I loved him... and we spent the next nine years unwrapping that gift."

How simple is that?! When we love, and know ourselves to be loved, everything flows from there. When we are rooted in love, we are all students... and we are all teachers.

simply jag
xox

in stillness & simplicity...

"It often seems as if we rush through life at such high speed while in our heart there is the essential interior flame of being. Our rushing often brings it to the point of extinction. But when we sit down to meditate, in stillness and simplicity, the flame begins to burn brightly and steadily. As we abandon thinking in terms of success and self-importance, the light of the flame helps us to understand ourselves and others in terms of light, warmth and love."

- John Main, OSB

My meditation space at Stillpoint House of Prayer, Springtown, ON...
Twice a year, I spend time - in silence & simplicity - detaching from the clutter of my daily life. I never fail to leave there feeling refreshed, refocused and beloved.

simply jag
xox

it begins with one word...

"There is a guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right word... Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which flows into your life. Then, without effort, you are impelled to truth and to perfect contentment."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

...and with this one word, I jump into my first online photo challenge from Shutter Sisters. A photo a day throughout the month of February.

I have chosen the word "simplify". I had adopted this as my focus for 2009 and this creative project seemed like a great way to explore how the concept of "simplicity" can apply to my life. I am blessed with a full life, and too often I am drawn into a wide variety of commitments and intentions. I end up feeling scattered and ineffective. In 2009, I seek to simplify... to focus on what is really most important to me and to let go of the opportunities that do not contribute to my spiritual and physical well-being.

simply jag xox