July 2021 Touchstones Ministry Theme: Journey

July 2021 Readings from the Common Bowl

July 1: “And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?” ~ Rumi

July 2: “The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” ~ Steve Maraboli

July 3: “Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you’re worthy of the trip.” ~ Glenn Beck

July 4: “In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself within a dark wood where the direct way was lost.” ~ Dante

July 5: “Your outer journey may contain a million steps; your inner journey only has one: the step you are taking right now.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

July 6: “Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future; therefore, you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more important it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.” ~ John O’Donohue

July 7: “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” ~ Marcel Proust

July 8: “My favorite journey is looking out the window.” ~ Edward Gorey

July 9: “…there ain’t no journey what don’t change you some.” ~ David Mitchell

July 10: “May I share with you a formula that in my judgment will help you and help me to journey well through mortality… First, fill your mind with truth; second, fill your life with service; and third, fill your heart with love.” ~ Thomas Monson

July 11: “The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours—it is an amazing journey—and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” ~ Bob Moawad

July 12: “We’re not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves. But in doing that you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes.” ~ Joseph Campbell

July 13: “It may be that when we no longer know which way to go that we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.”  Wendell Berry

July 14: “The journey itself is my home.” ~ Matsuo Bashō

July 15: “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” ~ Martin Buber

July 16: “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” ~ John Steinbeck

July 17: “Losing your way on a journey is unfortunate. But, losing your reason for the journey is a fate more cruel.”  H.G. Wells

July 18: “There is meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

July 19: “And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home.” ~ Wendell Berry

July 20: “Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.” ~ Erol Ozan

July 21: “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” ~ John Steinbeck

July 22: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow what a ride!’” ~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley

July 23: “The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can’t be organized or regulated. It isn’t true that everyone should follow one path. Listen to your own truth.” ~ Ram Dass

July 24: “My invitation, my challenge to you here, is to journey into a deeper intimacy with the world and your life without any promise of safety or guarantee of reward beyond the intrinsic value of full participation.” ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer

July 25: “The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it’s here is up to us. Journey wisely.” ~ Alexandra Elle

July 26: “My dad used to say that life’s a journey, but somebody screwed up and lost the map.” ~ Rachel Caine

July 27: “All great literature is one of two stories; a …person goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” ~ Leo Tolstoy

July 28: “As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you’re going to are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you won’t be able to re-fold it no matter how smart you are. So, forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can, pull over and have a picnic with a pig.” ~ Jim Henson

July 29: “In every journey comes a moment… one like no other. And in that moment, you must decide between who you are… and who you want to be.” ~ J.C. Marino

July 30: “I guess that’s the thing about a hero’s journey. You might not start out a hero, and you might not even come back that way. But you change, which is the same as everything changing. The journey changes you, whether or not you know it, and whether or not you want it to.” ~ Kami Garcia

July 31: “The journey is part of the experience—an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca.” ~ Anthony Bourdain