Eternity is not infinity
It is not a long time
It does not begin at the end of time
It does not run parallel to time
In its entirety it always was
In its entirety it will always be
It is entirely present always
Wendell Berry, Leavings
In between
Sometimes, to get from where we are to where we are going, we have to be willing to be in-between…..Being in-between isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. It will not last forever. It may feel like we’re standing still, but were not. We’re standing at the in-between place. It’s how we get from here to there. It is not the destination. We are moving forward, even when we’re in-between. Today, I will accept where I am as the ideal place for me to be. If I am in-between, I will strive for the faith that this place is not without purpose, that it is moving me toward something good.
Melodie Beattie
Openness
Your relationship to time reveals your capacity to trust that whatever is present each day, you can handle; otherwise it would not be there. The surprising or unexpected happenings of each day reveal your attachments and teach you about your ability or inability to remain flexible. In what ways are you manifesting the 5 simple qualities of childlike openness:
Not worrying about your daily bread
Not complaining when you fall sick
Sharing whatever you have
When you fight or quarrel, not holding a grudge and making up quickly
Showing your vulnerability when frightened or threatened.
Angelus Arrien
Over and over
There are no new stressful thoughts.
They’re all recycled.
Byron Katie
Our moods change
One of the Japanese words for mind is kokoro. The word koro is the onomatopoeia for “rolling along.” Something that rolls like a ball is koro koro koro. So kokoro is something that is always moving and changing, never stopped. There is no object or form that we can identify as mind. It is always changing. Though we are always looking for something to rely on, we cannot find it in something called mind.
From the excellent book I am reading at the moment:
Shodo Harada , 1940 – Rinzai Zen abbot, Not One Single Thing: A Commentary on the Platform Sutra
Start the day
Dawn is coming…… I step quietly from my bed, alive to the silences around me. This is the quiet time, the time of innocence and soft thoughts, the childhood of the day. Now is the moment when I must pause and lift my heart – now, before the day fragments and my consciousness shatters into a thousand pieces. For this is the moment when the senses are most alive, when a thought, a touch, a piece of music can shape the spirit and color of the day. But if I am not careful – if I rise, frantic, from my bed, full of small concerns – the mystical flow of the imagination at rest will be broken, the past and the future will rush in to claim my mind, and I will be swept up into life’s petty details and myriad obligations. Gone will be the openness that comes only to the waking heart, and with it, the chance to focus the spirit and consecrate the day.
Kent Neburn, Small Grace: The Quiet Gifts of Everyday life
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