I look;
Morning to night I am never done with looking.
Looking, I mean not just standing around,
but standing around
as though with your arms open.
Mary Oliver, Where does the Temple Begin, Where does it End?
Clouds and rain
You must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloudshadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you
Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Learning to stop
A lot of rain these last few days….
Be silent,
as when the rain stops,
and the trees in the orchard
begin to draw moisture
up into themselves.
Rumi, You are the Only Student you Have
photo keith salvesan
Playing chasing
As long as we chase the myth, trying to get happiness by attempting to manipulate and control life – whether through trying harder to succeed, trying to please others, seeking comfort and diversions or even using spiritual practice to become calm – we will continue to trap ourselves on the roller coaster cycle of personal happiness and unhappiness, And sadly we will never taste the true contentment that comes when we learn how to stay present with what is, exactly as it is.
Ezra Bayda, Beyond Happiness
A contented mind
Great wealth consists in living on a little with a contented mind;
for of a little there is never a lack.
Lucretius, Roman poet c 99 BC – 55 BC, On the Nature of Things Book 5, 1118-1120
photo Suriya Donavanik
A wise path
Do your work, then step back
The only path to serenity
Lao Tzu
photo AlastairG
