heaven is beyond my hopes...so let me stroll through the bright hours

lamb's ear and rock, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Picture: a small cluster of lamb's ear leaves adjacent to a rough grey rock. [Note: The lamb's ear was a gift from a woman in Cambria--a few years ago our family was walking to the Tea Cozy for a cuppa when we passed the most charming all-purple cottage. The owner was in her yard gardening and we struck up a conversation and she generously offered a cluster of plants to add to our own garden. :) }

One of my favorite birthday gifts this year included this quotation on the card:
"Ah, how short a time it is that we are here! Why then not set our hearts at rest, ceasing to trouble whether we remain or go? What boots it to wear out the soul with anxious thoughts? I want not wealth; I want not power: heaven is beyond my hopes. Then let me stroll through the bright hours as they pass, in my garden among my flowers, or I will mount the hill and sing my song, or weave my verse beside the limpid brook. Thus will I work out my allotted span, content with the appointments of Fate, my spirit free from care."
~Giles, "Chinese Literature"