Tag: Acceptance

A psalm on acceptance

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tree at nightEven in the midst of great pain, Lord,
     I praise you for that which is.
I will not refuse this grief
     or close myself to this anguish.
Let shallow men pray for ease:
     “Comfort us; shield us from sorrow.”
I pray for whatever you send me,
     and I ask to receive it as your gift.
You have put a joy in my heart
     greater than all the world’s riches.
I lie down trusting the darkness,
     for I know that even now you are here.

Psalm 4, from Stephen Mitchell, A Book of Psalms: Selected and Adapted from the Hebrew.

Still point

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File:LabyrinthAtLEAF.JPG

Stay at the center of the circle

and let all things take their course

Tao Te Ching, 19

Let go

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File:Sunrise in Newbury, 2005.jpg

Every morning
I surrender to being here
I let go into gravity

It takes practice
To give up habitual holding on, holding in, holding back
Every morning I open myself
And invite grace to have its way with me

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

photo joolz

Sunday Quote: Trust

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File:Sea shore.jpg

Sometimes things happen that we do not understand and we wish were otherwise.  Rumi offers some solace: 

Give up to grace.

The ocean takes care of each wave until it gets to the shore

Rumi

photo CC-BY

The showers of life

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File:Rainshowers in Stockholm in July 2015.jpg

Useful practice these days in Ireland, with its mix of sunshine and heavy showers….

There is something to be learned from being out in the rain. When you get caught out by a sudden shower, your first instinct is not to get wet and you run quickly along the road. But in doing so you have to run under the eaves of the houses and you still get wet. However, when you are balanced from the beginning, you will not get annoyed, even though you will get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything in life.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo, 1659 – 1719, author Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai.

photo Frankie Fouganthin

Not wanted

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File:Brotherhood at the top of Afghanistan DVIDS362051.jpg

Saying yes to everything in a day, including things we would prefer not to be happening, is not easy, but it helps us remember that life is made up of both pleasant and unpleasant:

Even now,
decades after,
I wash my face with cold water —

not for discipline,
nor memory,
nor the icy, awakening slap,

but to practice
choosing
to make the unwanted wanted.

Jane Hirshfield, A Cedary Fragance from Given Sugar, Given Salt