Today I’m flying low and I’m
not saying a word.
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.
But I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.
Mary Oliver, Today
photo yanajin33
Some wisdom on the place of meditation and non-doing in overcoming the difficulties of each day, from one of the Desert Fathers, 3rd Century Christian monks in Egypt
Abba Pastor said
“Any challenge that comes to you
can be overcome by silence”
photo itzafineday
Whenever you experience any pain or difficulty, always remember one of the deep meanings of the word suffering: asking the world for something it can never give you. We expect and ask impossible things from the world. We ask for the perfect home and job and that all the things we work hard to build and arrange run perfectly at the right time and place. Of course, that is asking for something that can never be given. We ask for profound meditation and enlightenment, right here and now. But that’s not the way this universe works. If you ask for something that the world can’t supply, you should understand that you’re asking for suffering. So whether you work or meditate, please accept that things will go wrong from time to time. Your job is not to ask for things the world can’t give you. Your job is to observe.
Ajahn Brahm, It all goes wrong anyway
photo alejandrollinaresgarcia
If you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It’s that simple. What you see is what you get
Annie Dilliard
photo marilia melhado
Calm in quiet times is not real calm:
When you can be calm in the midst of activity, this is the true state of nature.
Happiness in time of comfort is not real happiness
When you can be happy in the midst of challenges, then you see the true potential of the mind.
Hanchu Daoren, Chinese philosopher, 1572 – 1620
photo bureau of land management
Stop talking, Stop thinking
And there is nothing that you will not understand
Seng-Ts’an, Third Chinese Patriarch
photo donald bain
