We are all substantially flawed, wounded, angry, hurt, here on Earth. But this human condition, so painful to us, and in some ways shameful – because we feel we are weak when the reality of ourselves is exposed – is made much more bearable when it is shared, face to face, in words that have expressive human eyes behind them.
Alice Walker, Letter to President Clinton
The previous post suggests letting go as a way of negotiating the ups and downs of each day, and I got an early opportunity to practice this strategy this morning. I arose early and set out to get to College in good time. However a major accident closed the main road towards Dublin and led to diversions, traffic chaos, and added significant time to a normally carefree journey. So the planned early start at the desk did not materialize. It is good to work at being at peace with how each day starts and develops, how our life is actually unfolding in this moment, as this leads to being at peace with how our lives are in an overall sense.
Pleasant conditions change into unpleasant ones, and unpleasant conditions eventually become pleasant. We should just keep this awareness of impermanence and be at peace with the way things are, not demanding that they be otherwise. The people we live with, the places we live in, the society we are a part of – we should just be at peace with everything. But most of all we should be at peace with ourselves – that is the big lesson to learn in life. It is really hard to be at peace with oneself. I find that most people have a lot of self-aversion. It is much better to be at peace with our own bodies and minds than anything else, and not demand that they be perfect, that we be perfect, or that everything be good. We can be at peace with the good and the bad.
Ajahn Sumedho
By letting it go it all gets done.
The world is won by those who let it go.
But when you try and try.
The world is beyond the winning.
Lao Tzu
Renunciation is not the same as giving up pleasure or denying ourselves happiness. It means giving up our unreal expectations about ordinary pleasures. These expectations themselves are what turn pleasure into pain… Simply stated, renunciation is the feeling of being so completely fed up with our recurring problems that we are finally ready to turn away from our attachments to this and that and begin searching for another way to make our life meaningful… To develop renunciation means to realize how our ordinary reliance on pleasure is preventing us from tasting a higher, more complete happiness
Lama Yeshe
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
William James
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