There is no less holiness at this time — as you are reading this — than there was the day the Red Sea parted . . . There is no whit less enlightenment under the tree by your street than there was under the Buddha’s bo tree. There is no whit less might in heaven or on earth than there was the day Jesus said ‘Maid, arise’ to the centurion’s daughter, or the day Peter walked on water, or the night Mohammed flew to heaven on a horse. In any instant the sacred may wipe you with its finger. In any instant the bush may flare, your feet may rise, or you may see a bunch of souls in a tree.
Anne DIlliard, For the Time Being
Start with the ground![[Penguin]](https://i0.wp.com/www.ngsprints.co.uk/images/M/1006843.jpg "[Penguin]")
Normally, as a negative mood arises, it catches hold and infects the whole mind – we become that mood – with its characteristic form. This is the big weakness of the undeveloped mind – it makes how I feel into who I am. There’s a grasp, a contraction, and we get pushed into the story, get mesmerized by it and rehash it time and time again. 
Unless we train it the mind does the minimum necessary to fulfill a function. In that way it is like the body. For example, our muscles and bones are strong enough for us to walk – but not to run, unless we condition them…..The difference between the mind and the body is that no one is surprised to get winded while running to catch the bus. Nobody get’s mad at themselves, saying “I can’t believe I can’t run 26.2 miles!” However, when we get overwhelmed by longer hours at work, more emails or more parenting duties, we become irritable, moody and unhappy. It does not occur to us that our mind is out of shape. We put more stress on ourselves because we assume we should be able to handle it all. 
