Those who are willing to be vulnerable
move among mysteries
Theodore Roethke, American Poet, Straw for the Fire
A deeper source
Maybe you are searching among the branches
for what only appears in the roots
Rumi
photo evelyn simak
Looking and finding
Never be so focused on what you’re looking for
that you overlook the thing you actually find.
Ann Patchett, American author
Half Circles
These last few months I have come to see more and more how some sense of longing seems to be a part and parcel of human nature, and will never go away. It comes from the fact, as John O’Donohue wrote in Anam Chara, that the human person is a “threshold where many infinities meet”. This can explain why, for many of us, a sense of wonder can exist in a world which is finite:
The human being is an in-between presence, belonging neither fully to the earth from which she has come, nor to the heavens toward which her mind and spirit aim….The creator of the universe loves circles: time and space are circles, the day is a circle, the year is a circle, the earth is a circle. But when creating and fashioning the human heart, the creator only created a half-circle, so that there is something ontologically unfinished in human nature. That is why you can’t enter your own life or inhabit your full presence without a vital and real relationship with some other person.
John O Donohue, The Presence of Compassion
photo hedera baltica
Supporting your Practice
Those of you who have been following this blog for a while will know that I try to keep it fairly simple, don’t comment too much and let the texts speak for themselves in support of developing a meditation or mindfulness practice. And I rarely promote sites despite getting requests to do so, as I try to keep the focus on meditation practice. However today I will deviate for once in recommending a site which does meditation supplies, as I really like the quality and the ethos of the person who is behind it, and I use them myself. The site is called www.dhammarts.com. It is worth a visit and a read about the philosophy behind their work. Based in Europe, but run by a young Thai lady who is dedicated to supporting meditation practice, its materials are produced using traditional methods in small villages in north-east Thailand, and thus it assists the local economy in poor rural areas. It is a small-scale operation, focusing on the quality of all the materials, on maintaining traditional skills and on the ethical way they are produced. At this time of year when maybe you are considering giving a gift to someone, this could be an option in supporting someone’s meditation practice while helping rural villages in Thailand at the same time.
When busyness distracts
Become aware of impatience as it arises during the day. Be aware of the signals in the body (tapping fingers) and the talk in the mind (“Hurry up!”) that accompany impatience. Ask yourself, “Why am I in a rush? What do I want to rush ahead to get to?” See what answers arise.
Jan Chozen Bays, How to train a Wild Elephant
photo david pickersgill
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