Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow;
The same God who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day.
Either God will shield you from suffering or God will give you strength to bear it
Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and sufferings
St Francis de Sales
There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving.
But, who wants easier?
Mary Oliver
photo James Petts
The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for.
And the most you can do is live inside that hope.
Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.
Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams
photo of a small cottage in the west of Ireland by louise price
Our bodies know they belong;
it is our minds that make our lives so homeless.
John O Donohue
The first step in any letting go is ‘stepping back’– non-involvement. This initiates letting go by unhooking the mind from the topic that is stirring it up. It’s not a matter of avoiding or suppressing the topic, but of seeing it in a clear and spacious way. Non-involvement is about settling back into the present moment, relaxing into the way things are right now; it’s about letting go of the ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts,’ the past, the future and the imaginary, and meeting things as they arise in the present. Letting go needs to be supported by a steady and focused mindfulness and clear comprehension. These provide the means whereby we can attend to what is happening now without trying to fix it. In this way, we check the feedback loop between behaviour and awareness, so that the mind finds a calm and steady place in the midst of changing feelings.
Ajahn Sucitto, Meditation, A Way of Awakening
We live a lot in our heads, our worries and fears. Meditation involves settling back into the support offered by the breath-in-the-body and getting a feel for the right balance there. This allows us to stay in touch with where we are, which balances the thinking mind’s preoccupation with who we are, with doing and with how we appear.
Living calls for the art of the wrestler, not the dancer
Staying on your feet is all;
there is no need for pretty steps
Marcus Aurelius
