When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen….
Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world,
Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light.
Know that you are not alone,
And that this darkness has purpose
John O’Donohue, For Courage (extract)
Sometimes we must undergo hardships, breakups, and narcissistic wounds, which shatter the flattering image that we had of ourselves, in order to discover two truths: that we are not who we thought we were; and that the loss of a cherished pleasure is not necessarily the loss of true happiness and well-being.
Jean-Yves Leloup, Compassion and Meditation
When you find your place where you actually are, practice occurs....
When you find your way at this moment, practice occurs…
Here is the place; Here the way unfolds
Dogen, 1200 – 1253, Genjōkōan: Actualizaing the Fundamental Point
Wisdom consists in doing the next thing that you have to do,
doing it with your whole heart,
and finding delight in doing it.
And the delight is the sense of the sacred.
Helen Luke, 1904 – 1995, Jungian Analyst and writer
Starting here, what do you want to remember?…
Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?
When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life –
What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
William Stafford, You Reading this, Be Ready (extract)
It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life
waiting to start living.
Eckhart Tolle
