I made some lovely heart bookmarks from Larissa's wonderful love you bookmark tutorial. They turned out so easy and sweet! Now I have some bookmarks hugging a page or two from the book Gardening the Soul: Soothing Seasonal Thoughts for Jaded Modern Souls by Sister Stan.

Here are some of my favourite thoughts from the book:

9 February

The earth speaks in magic, but only to those who can hear their hearts. It's voice is in the stark shape of a leafless twig against the winter sky, the touch of a water-worn stone, the colour of the sunset, the smell of the rain on earth, the sound of the night wind. The earth's whispers are everywhere, but only those who have dreamt with the earth can hear them.

My soul can find no staircase to heaven unless it be through earth's loveliness.

-Michelangelo

18 July

The greatest gift we can bestow is thanksgiving. When we give thanks, we give something greater than the gifts we have received, whatever it is. In giving gifts, we often give what we can spare, but in giving thanks we give ourselves.

The receiver of a gift depends on the giver, but the circle is incomplete until the giver becomes the receiver-the receiver of thanks.

Gratitude is the awareness that life, in all its manifestations, is a gift for which we want to give thanks.

-Henri Nouwen

24 September

Our obsession with possessions is incredible. We collect things only to cast them aside. Things we may never need again we hold on to. Our wants can go way beyond our needs, and may become greed.

The more we give in to our wants, the more out of control our life becomes. It gets filled with clutter and chaos, confusion and crisis. Living simply, attending only to our needs, we can feel liberated and empowered. Simplicity frees us from false values and releases us from possessions so that we may free ourselves of the past and live more fully in the present.

A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well being that places harmony in one's life.

-Peace Pilgrim