Having an insight into the non-solid and passing nature of most experiences allows us let things pass through, without making them into the story of our life.
All realities are devoid of an abiding self;
When we see this with insight
we will get space in this life of suffering
Dhammapada, v.279
Sit quietly, and listen for a voice that will say, ‘Be more silent.’
Your old life was a frantic running from silence.
Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Dwell in silence.
Flow down and down in always widening rings of being.
Rumi
The distance doesn’t matter;
it is only the first step that counts
La distance n’y fait rien; il n’y a que le premier pas qui coûte.
Marquise du Deffand, 1697 – 1780, French hostess and patron of the arts. She was commenting on the popular legend of Saint Denis who was said to have walked for 6 miles carrying his head after being beheaded.
A common man marvels at uncommon things.
A wise man marvels at the commonplace.
Confucius
Strong winds are predicted for this weekend, the tail-end of an Atlantic storm…
Time and again I was seeing that if I could handle the winds of the current storm, they would end up blowing in some great gift… Challenging situations create the force needed to bring about change. The problem is that we generally use all the stirred up energy intended to bring about change, to resist change. I was learning to sit quietly in the midst of the howling winds and wait to see what constructing action was being asked of me.
Michael SInger, The Surrender Project
What does wakefulness mean? It means resting in a kind of awareness that is so stable that it’s not thrown off by the comings and goings of events within the field of awareness. So that you don’t lose your balance when things go this way and things go that way, but you actually stay grounded when things go your way, as we put it. And when things don’t go your way, it doesn’t mean that you have to rocket yourself or spiral into depression and hopelessness and a sense of despair. But very often if we take it personally and we feel like our successes say that we’re a good person and then, by extrapolation, our failures say that there’s something wrong with me, that I’m no good. And both of those are wrong. What goes up also comes down, whether we’re talking about the stock market or a ball that you throw up in the air. And if you mistake what you think of as the reality for the reality, then you’re going to suffer because you’re attaching the story of me, myself, and my successes and my failures to something that’s actually quite impersonal.
Jon Kabat Zinn, Interview with Krista Tippett, Speaking of Faith
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