Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves
– slowly, evenly –
without rushing toward the future
Thich Nhat Hahn
Category: Be fully present
Waking up
All of us know how difficult it is for us to be inside the present moment, to not be asleep to the real riches inside our own lives. The distractions and worries of daily life tend to so consume us that we habitually take for granted what’s most precious to us, our health, the miracle of our senses, the love and friendships that surround us, and the gift of life itself. We go through our daily lives not only with a lack of reflectiveness and lack of gratitude but with a habitual touch of resentment as well, a chronic, grey depression, Robert Moore calls it. We are very much asleep, both to God and to our own lives.
Ron Rolheiser
Really seeing
In a way, nobody sees a flower, really,
it is so small, we haven’t the time
— and to see takes time,
like to have a friend takes time.
Georgia O’Keefe
A Christmas lesson: In the ordinary
Nothing in life is trivial
Life is whole wherever and whenever we touch it,
and one moment or event is not less sacred than another
Vimala Thakar
Beannachtaí na Nollaig oraibh go léir
(Christmas blessings from Ireland to all of you who drop by or who read each day)
photo vera and jean christophe
Stories at Christmas
Christmas is a time which amplifies our tendency to generate a lot of stories about ourselves and how our lives are going. We are surrounded by many images – happy families, perfect relationships, cheerful celebrations – and if our personal situation does not match them, we can be tempted to feel that something is wrong. The key to keeping the mind relaxed at times like this is to be aware of the feelings provoked, and see them as mental energies to be worked with. In this way we can observe them as stories and not take them as the truth about our life:
Our life is becoming more and more inundated with TV shows, movies, videos, magazines and newspaper articles that seem to show and tell us what life is like. And then the inevitable comparisons arise: “My life isn’t like that” or “I wish it were” or “It is exactly like that”. The moment we notice sad and painful feelings arising, from thoughts like “I’m unloved; I feel separate and isolated” can we immediately stop, look and listen instead of going on weaving fancy narratives about ourselves? Can we stop and ask, “Where is this feeling coming from? ” Right now. Asking right this moment. Becoming more transparent to the thoughts and images that evoke these feelings and then deepen, embellish and propagate them. Becoming aware, let us taste directly how stories run our lives.
Toni Parker, The Silent Question.
A time to nourish gratitude
My colleagues and I are finding that gratitude, which we define as a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life, is more than simply a pleasant emotion to experience or a polite sentiment to express. It is, or at least can be, a basic disposition, one that seems to make lives happier, healthier, more fulfilling – and even longer. New data continues to pour in, but already it appears that 21st-century research will confirm what the wonderful G. K. Chesterton wrote back in 1908: “The test of all happiness is gratitude. Children are grateful when Santa Claus puts in their stockings gifts of toys or sweets. Could I not be grateful to Santa Claus when he puts in my stockings the gift of two miraculous legs?”
One is never lacking in opportunities to be happy, according to Chesterton, because around every corner is another gift waiting to surprise us.
Robert A. Emmons, University of California, Davis
