There are so many things that hold us back from our dreams
Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice.
By freedom I mean freedom from afflictions, from anger, and from despair.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Be Free Where You Are
Just listen to whatever surrounds you. Sound is a good object of meditation because we generally do not try to control it as much as we do other things. People often have a more difficult time settling into their bodies than they do paying attention to the sounds that appear naturally. Just listen and try to let whatever sounds are around you pass through you.
The fundamental purpose of meditation is not to create a comfortable hiding place for oneself; it is to acquaint the mind, one a moment-to-moment basis, with impermanence….When the mind is settled, the underlying ephemeral nature of things can be more clearly perceived. Resistance diminishes, the flight to past and future recedes, and the sense that it might be possible to respond consciously rather than react blindly to events begins to emerge.
Mark Epstein, Advice not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself
Finally calm again after some days of wind and rain..
Life does not consist mainly – or even largely – of facts and happenings.
It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever blowing through one’s head.
Mark Twain, Autobiography
No one escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land
Annie Dilliard
Continuing with a sequence of Mary Oliver poems for autumn. A lot of wind and rain here yesterday and overnight. Plenty of mud…
Angels are wonderful but they are so, well, aloof.
It’s what I sense in the mud and the roots of the
trees, or the well, or the barn, or the rock with
its citron map of lichen that halts my feet and
makes my eyes flare, feeling the presence of some
spirit, some small god, who abides there.
If I were a perfect person, I would be bowing
continuously.
I’m not, though I pause wherever I feel this
holiness, which is why I’m so often late coming
back from wherever I went.
Forgive me.
Mary Oliver, Forgive me
These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb
Najwa Zebian, Lebanese-Canadian author and educator
Mindfulbalance 