by ingrid on November 24, 2009
“Such blessings we receive,
such gifts of grace.
If we have wandered from the path of gladness,
point us back to life!”
~Ingrid Goff-Maidoff
Happy Thanksgiving to all. As is my habit, here are some excerpts from my book, Simple Graces for Every Meal. I penned these graces in hopes that they would be comfortable and inspiring in all kinds of company. Joy to you this holiday season, Ingrid
in the sweetness of this hour
with full and thankful hearts;
thoughtful and generous minds.
~
We are gathered together
in a circle of plenty,
a circle of love, and a circle of light.
With peaceful hearts, we welcome each other.
With grateful hearts, we give thanks.
~
With joy and reverence we give thanks
for the wondrous power of growing things,
and for the sustenance our lives receive
from the beauty of the earth
and the fellowship of all beings.
~
Life that gives us life, we thank you.
To all who live on Martha’s Vineyard: The Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven has honored me with a lovely display. I am very grateful to have a year round outlet for my work there. I’ll also be at the Artisan’s Fair on Friday and Saturday this week, so please come! And my work is available at the Holiday Cooperative Shop on Main Street in Vineyard Haven (near Leslie’s).
by ingrid on September 24, 2009
To write about coming home may seem odd for a gal who hasn’t been away anywhere, yet that’s how these days feel - as if I am home again after a long while. I am slowing down, easing into autumn after the summer whirl- a whirl in which it feels as if I went from the basement studio, where I assemble my books and wares, to the old Grange hall where I sell them. As I slow down I begin to notice things and therefore to enjoy them - like the way the setting sun lit up Kwan Yin’s face the other night. And my gosh the fish are vibrant and healthy.
I’ve brought the plants in, and they make the house feel so cheery and alive.
I’ve even been taking the time to hang out the laundry. It’s a pleasure and a privilege not to rush. How is it that my “to do” list is so long, and my “to be” list is so short? To be less hurried, more loving, happy, peaceful, at ease….
Another quality of feeling at home is the sense of resting in belonging- of venturing out into the arms of the day that I feel when I head out on a walk somewhere. Here, the fields of Tea Lane farm are so beautiful.
The evening light filtering through the woods; the stone walls; the occasional deer- all remind me somehow of the hidden world of the soul, and the unhidden world which is right here, to be noticed, savored and enjoyed at any moment… as soon as I remember to slow myself down and to come home.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings be peaceful and at ease.
May all beings know love and belonging…
by ingrid on March 16, 2009
“Spirituality means love in action.
It means enjoying our spiritual riches and sharing them with all we meet.
We can learn to balance our spiritual practices with our worldly responsibilities,
enjoying the fruits within ourselves and sharing our gifts with humanity.”
~ Empowering Your Soul Through Meditationby Rajinder Singh
Today I am feeling very grateful for my work in this world, which is the work of sharing. And I am feeling grateful for this website and this online community. We all have our own ways of putting our love into action- what are some of yours?
by ingrid on February 27, 2009
I Love:
Walking along the wooded trail…
The slant of golden light across the farmer’s field…
How birds in the bare branches of a distant tree look like musical notes…
This world of form, of ten thousand things.
As a joy practice, I have kept lists of simple pleasures and counted blessings for a very long time. Over the years,the subscribers to my newsletter have added to it. Reading the list often brings me to a renewed sense of gratitude. Here is a link to our list so far. Send me a comment if you would like to add to it! 
by ingrid on February 27, 2009
One day when I was feeling agitated, my mind restless with worry and complaints, I went for a walk and asked, in a walking prayer, for guidance. The much needed suggestion that came to me was:
Listen
Admire
Give Thanks
& Bless
Each of these words offers a practice that helps bring us back into the full graciousness of the present moment.
To listen is to get quiet, give your weary mind a rest from all the nagging thoughts, be open for guidance and deeper wisdom, and to become spacious. I find that a solitary walk is one of the best ways for me to do this. Meditation and contemplative reading also help.
To admire is to focus on and rejoice in all that is good and beautiful and abundant and true. Imagine that you are looking through a camera- look for colors, textures and loving details, action shots, smiling portraits, expressions of humor, passion, tenderness and joy.
To give thanks is to channel the flowing energy of gratitude and prosperity back into your life. Give thanks for all you admire. Give thanks for the gifts you so often take for granted. Give thanks for the people in your life and all that they have to teach you. Give thanks for your socks - just give thanks. A lot.
And to Bless is to become an active, loving, unselfish, generous, caring, compassionate, and Joyful participant in the big world. Through blessings we invoke light and love and goodness. We bless through our work, our art, our words, and our intentions. This is a million times more useful than complaining, helping us to reclaim joy and restore a balance of peace and love to the world.
Try it for yourself. Listen. Admire. Give Thanks, and Bless.
by ingrid on January 27, 2009
My daughter Rose and I met up with my parents for a chilly walk on Lucy Vincent Sunday afternoon. At the entrance to the beach, we met an acquaintance who had recently lost his wife to cancer. “May I join you?” he asked, “I’m lonely.” Something about his honesty put us all at ease. He said his wife had painted many pictures of this beach, and that he was surrounded by her art and jealous of the pieces that were sold. It was as if he still longed to gather every last fragment of her and hold them near. My heart ached a little, and opened.
He asked what I had been doing. “Plodding along,” I said, instantly kicking myself. Plodding along?! What is that? This man would have understood better than many how I had felt myself coming into the winter season with an intense need for pleasure and for rest. He would have understood my excitement at reading that the word “SAVOR” is from the Latin root for wisdom.
That is what I mean to do: to savor the slow and smokey winter sweetness of my days- to look mindfully at the details with gratitude and appreciation and perhaps even a poet’s eye; to breathe of them whole-heartedly; to drink them fully; to hold my family close; to practice beauty- the love of it if not the manufacture.
At home, the door, simple objects, all took on a new luminosity.
And the sun reached in across a kitchen counter, illuminating our abundance: onions, coffee, winter squash…
by ingrid on January 7, 2009
I often sign my correspondence, “Love, Joy, and A Thousand Daily Blessings”. This appeals to me instinctively and poetically, although I’ve never known quite why. The other morning I noticed that I seemed to breathe once every eight seconds- in for four, and out for four. This was very self-conscious, and for that reason probably not true for the times I am less aware that I am breathing at all. But I applied this count to minutes and hours, and soon realized that I breathed more than ten thousand times a day. In which case, I concluded, I am blessed ten thousand times daily just by living.
On top of this, I was aware of other blessings: the sun rising, my loved ones, hot water flowing free from the tap, the fragrance of my shampoo, a warm sweater, raspberries and coffee, a humorous exchange with my husband, moments to wonder at the beauty of my children- and that was just in the first hour!
The next morning I awoke with the awareness that this day would, in all likelihood, contain ten thousand daily blessings, in addition to all the other blessings I was aware enough to notice. And the day stretched out warm, light, and full of possibility.
Love, Joy, and Ten thousand daily blessings, Ingrid
