The mind creates many senses of self as it pursues what it desires or responds to lacks in our environment. We often identify with these adaptations, even if they are not worth calling our self
On the journey to myself I’ve been so many people
Indigo Williams, English Poet
The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the hidden side of things. They bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language – the word ‘enthusiasm’ – en theos – a god within. The grandeur of human actions is measured by the inspiration from which they spring.
Louis Pasteur
The wise person leans on a pillar that is never shaken,
Travels a road that is never blocked,
is endowed from a resource that is never exhausted,
and learns from a teacher that never dies.
They are successful In whatever they undertake, and arrive wherever they go.
Whatever they do, they embrace destiny and go along without confusion.
Wen-tzu, Taoist, disciple of Lao Tzu
It’s only when caterpillarness is done that one becomes a butterfly.
That again is part of this paradox.
You cannot rip away caterpillarness.
The whole trip occurs in an unfolding process of which we have no control.
Ram Dass
Happy are those who know
behind all words, the Unsayable stands,
and from that source, the Infinite
crosses over to gladness, and us.
Free of those bridges we raise
with constructed distinctions;
so that always, in each separate joy,
we gaze at the single, wholly mutual core.
Rilke, Happy are those who know, translated by Jane Hirshfield
Graciousness is a quality of mind that does not separate truth and beauty. Talk of truth always makes it sound as if truth were the cardinal virtue. Yet without beauty, truth becomes blind and can be turned into a blunt and heartless imperative. When we hold beauty and truth together, truth will always have a sense of compassion and gentleness.
Sometimes the so-called facts of a situation actually tell us little or nothing about the heart of an experience. Only in the light of beauty can we come to see what is really present. This is true also of the way in which we view our own life. If we were to describe our life strictly in terms of its factual truth, most of its interesting, complex, and surprising dimensions would remain unmentioned. The gracious eye can find the corners where growth and healing are at work even when we feel weak and limited. It is no wonder that Jesus said; the gentle shall inherit the earth.
John O Donohue, Divine Beauty, The Invisible Embrace
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