It is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
Mary Oliver
photo sharon mollerus
Dear Mother Earth, as a human family, we have allowed greed and consumerism to prevail. We have been running after status, wealth, power and sensual comforts, forgetting that these things can never bring us true happiness and freedom. We have been so busy trying to cover up the feeling of emptiness inside, that we have not taken the time or space to stop and ask ourselves what we are doing, or where we are going. In the process, we have caused great harm to you, dear Mother Earth, destroying your natural richness, beauty and balance.
Aware of this, we are determined to simplify our life, to stop running, and to remember that in the present moment we already have enough conditions to be happy. With the energy of mindfulness and compassion we feel truly fulfilled and content. In the coming year, we are determined to consume less and to live in such a way that is sustainable for ourselves and for you, Mother Earth.
New Year 2016 Prayer, Plum Village Community, France
Arriving someplace more desirable at some future time is an illusion.
This is it.
Jon Kabat Zinn
photo thhe at english wikipedia
When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick:
every time a stick is thrown, you run after it.
Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower.
One only throws a stick at a lion once
Milarepa, Tibetan Buddhism, 1052 – 1135
photo calips
We are endlessly offered into life: all time is ours.
And what any one of us might be worth,
death alone knows – and does not tell.
Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus, II, 24
