There are thresholds which thought alone, left to itself, can never permit us to cross.
An experience is required – an experience of poverty, of sickness.
Gabriel Marcel, quoted in Gelin, Les Pauvres de Yahvé
Tag: balance
Tumbler dryer of thoughts
Any moment, however simple, can be transformative – it all depends on the quality of our attention.
By stopping and paying attention to some of the everyday aspects of our existence, we can wake up to every unique moment of our lives: the particular expression on our child’s face as we say goodbye in the morning, the way the wind blows the sycamore trees on this day compared to others…..
The beauty of life is in the day-do-day details that we can miss when we forget to stop and observe what is before us in each new moment. From the perspective of mindfulness, every moment has value and is worthy of being present to. When we practice the art of stopping, we can enjoy the blessings of nature that are always on our doorstep. We must simply take the time to stop and listen, open our eyes and our senses, and cease being consumed by our tumble dryer of thoughts.
Mark Coleman, Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery
Upheaval
The earthquake shakes you awake, and then that’s sort of the big spiritual question: How do you stay awake? …
The other question is: Why has everything we’ve ever been told about human nature misled us about what happens in these moments?
Rebecca Solnit
Space will not hold paint
The Buddha taught his students to develop a power of love so strong that the mind becomes like space that cannot be tainted. If someone throws paint, it is not the air that will change color. Space will not hold the paint; it will not grasp it in any way. Only the walls, the barriers to space, can be affected by the paint. The Buddha taught his students to develop a power of love so strong that their minds become like a pure, flowing river that cannot be burned. No matter what kind of material is thrown into it, it will not burn. Many experiences – good, bad, and indifferent – are thrown into the flowing river of our lives, but we are not burned, owing to the power of the love in our hearts
Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness
Space that leads to profound peace
The wisdom that arises from mindfulness makes space for the sense of self to be and not to be.
Not believing any one these fleeting identities to be who we really are, we release being concerned about any of it. In fact, we sit back and watch the whole show like an amused grandmother, quietly watching over the antics of her grandchildren. This is the profound peace we are so busy searching for. It does not come from creating and perfecting our personality.
Freedom comes when we see through the machinations of “self” and cease to be bothered by or believe any of it.
Mark Coleman, From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness
At peace
Externally, if you let go of fame and profit, your body will be at peace.
Inwardly, if you let go of over-thinking and rumination, your mind will be at peace.
Anonymous Taoist, late Qing dynasty (1644-1711), Secret Records of Understanding the Way,
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