Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher…..
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.
William Wordsworth, The Tables Turned
….is to receive
Month: April 2014
Sunday Quote: Our main task….
Our task is to listen to the news
that is always arriving out of silence.
Rainer Maria Rilke
photo gwen and james anderson
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A part of life
Movement and change are interesting aspects of life to work with. On one level change is obvious – such as the rain last night in Ireland after a few days of lovely sun – and we frequently resist this, acting as if we expect things to always remain the same. On another level, we have an inner restlessness which is constantly moving us to want change, that things be different, “better”, a constant inner “becoming” that does not make contentment in the present moment easy. This quote deals with impermanence, but both aspects – impermanence and becoming – have to be worked with, if we are to become fully human.
Change of one sort or another is the essence of life, so there will always be the loneliness and insecurity that come with change. When we refuse to accept that loneliness and insecurity are part of life, when we refuse to accept that they are the price of change, we close the door on many possibilities for ourselves; our lives become lessened, we are less than fully human.
If we try to prevent, or ignore, the movement of life, we run the risk of falling into the inevitable depression that must accompany an impossible goal. Life evolves; change is constant. When we try to prevent the forward movement of life, we may succeed for a while but, inevitably there is an explosion; the groundswell of life’s constant movement, constant change, is too great to resist.
Jean Vanier, Becoming Human
photo xlibber
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Springing up and falling back
Happiness is not to be found through great effort and willpower.
It is already present in open relaxation and letting go. Don’t strain.
There’s nothing to do or to undo. Whatever momentarily arises in body–mind has no real import at all, has very little reality whatsoever.
Why identify with it and become attached to it, passing judgment on it and on yourself and others?
Far better simply to let the entire play just happen on its own, springing up and falling back again like waves, without ‘rectifying’ things or manipulating things.
Just noticing how everything vanishes and then magically reappears, again and again and again. Time without end.
It’s only our searching for happiness that prevents us from seeing it.
Lama Gendun Rinpoche, Free and Easy
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Touch
Being aware of subtle emotional qualities you may be embodying at various times of the day. Pay particular attention to your hands. See if you don’t become more mindful by becoming more “bodyful.” Everything from opening a door to making love involves touch. It is possible to open a door so mindlessly that your hand doesn’t know what your body is doing and you hit yourself in the head with it. Imagine the challenge of touching another person without automaticity, with no gaining idea, just presence and caring.
Jon Kabat Zinn, Wherever you go, There you are
photo agustin ruiz
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Security from letting go of it
The bad news is: you are falling through the air,
nothing to hang on to, no parachute.
The good news is: there’s no ground
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling, they’re given wings.
Rumi
