Some thoughts, prompted by having to queue to get into the déchetterie – the recycling depot – this morning, which are in the same vein as some of the quotes over the past few days. The good weather motivates people to tidy up their houses and garages after the enforced restricted time that is winter. I was working in the garden yesterday, digging up the plants that did not survive the winter and cutting back those which will now grow more strongly in the Summer. Getting rid of the old and letting the new grow stronger or in different directions. And all around Nature is budding now, revealing what has been going on unseen and underground for months. In our own life path it is the same. We get rid of elements that no longer accord with who we are now, or let go of that which we can no longer hold onto. While waiting in the queue I listened to “Don’t Look Back” by Van Morrison which prompted these thoughts. Maybe the words will speak to someone this evening. If not, any excuse to play early Van the Man is good….
Teen Day 10: You as a witness
When you listen to a thought, you are aware not only of the thought but also of yourself as the witness of the thought.
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Being
The power of the past and the future
If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall still be dimly aware of the present when the good things that I have been expecting come to pass. For I shall have formed a habit of looking behind and ahead, making it difficult for me to attend to the here and now. If, then , my awareness of the past and future makes me less aware of the present, I must begin to wonder whether I am actually living in the real world.
Alan Watts
Early Spring morning walk
Walking the lanes near my house early this morning, with the spring chorus of the birds. At times one is just struck by the beauty and freshness of nature. Practice is easy then. Nothing needs to be added to this moment or to this step. We need not worry about getting anywhere, or measuring up or competing the journey. Just this step, and this moment, that bird singing, those three ducks flying overhead.
What activity is most important in your life? To pass an exam, get a car or a house, or get a promotion in your career? There are so many people who have passed exams, who have bought cars and houses, who have gotten promotions, but still find themselves without peace of mind, without joy, and without happiness. The most important thing in life is to find this treasure… In order to have peace and joy, you must succeed in having peace within each of your steps. Your steps are the most important thing. They decide everything.
But often in our daily life, our steps are burdened with anxieties and fears. Life itself seems to be a continuous chain of insecure feelings, and so our steps lose their natural easiness. Our earth is truly beautiful. There is so much graceful, natural scenery along paths and roads around the earth! They are all available to us, yet we cannot enjoy them because our hearts are not trouble-free, and our steps are not at ease.
Thich Nhat Hahn
Sunday Quote: Working with the life you have
Real practice is just being here right now
and not adding anything to this.
Charlotte Joko Beck
When you are centered
You’re very busy doing your practices……and you get into a state of mind where you accept that whatever is happening is happening. Even the most awful things that happen, if you’re centered, you’ll be O.K. If not, the most trivial thing will send you off. It has nothing to do with the experience or the circumstance: it is the attitude that’s important. We have to stop clinging to the conditioned path and learn to be open to the unconditioned path.
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
