Rather than being disheartened by the ambiguity, the uncertainty of life,
what if we accepted it and relaxed into it?
What if we said, “Yes, this is the way it is; this is what it means to be human,” and decided to sit down and enjoy the ride?
Pema Chödrön, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change
There is a latent potential hidden in the dark days of winter and of our lives – “new beginnings” awaiting, much like snowdrops pushing up through frozen ground.
May the dew of dreams
Fresh on the fields of night
Revive your courage
To take the first steps
Towards what you love.
May your mind stay clear
To sense the secret bounty
Waiting in the bleak
And brilliant moments of your life.
May your spirit risk
The slow excitement
Of a new beginning
That will take you home
To a place you have never known.
John O’Donohue, For the New Year
The second in three posts from the Thai Forest Tradition, this one from their most influential teacher who has had a significant impact on Western mindfulness practice, through the many Western monks who trained under him.
Try to be mindful, and let things take their course.
Then your mind will become quieter and quieter in any surroundings
It will become still like a clear forest pool.
All kinds of wonderful and rare animals will come to drink at the pool,
and you will clearly see the nature of all things. You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go,
But you will be still. Problems will arise and you will see through them immediately. This is the happiness of the Awakened One.
Ajahn Chah A Still Forest Pool
..Something seeks stimulation – there’s a desire to get something that’s more stimulating or activating than the water.
Maybe this outward seeking occurs because we don’t fully recognize and acknowledge the water – the qualities of the heart-mind [citta]. Maybe we haven’t fully appreciated the citta – enjoyed it, sensed it, experienced it as it actually is. If we could be open to enjoying that, feeling happy and satisfied with that, there wouldn’t be this need to throw stuff into it – to want more of this, or less of that, or change it...
The practice of Right Effort is to savour skilful states and linger in them because they are food for the heart and if the heart feeds on those skilful states, it won’t get restless and hungry, murky and agitated, fearful and depressed because it is getting good food.
Ajahn Sucitto
Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time, fail, or notice something you don’t like about yourself.
Instead of just ignoring your pain with a ‘stiff upper lip’ mentality,
you stop to tell yourself, ‘This is really difficult right now,’
how can I comfort and care for myself in this moment?”
Kristen Neff, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Little by Little you must train yourself for life, for happiness.
You probably received a college degree that you spent years working for,
and you thought that happiness would be possible after you got it.
But that was not true, because after getting the degree and finding a job,
you continued to suffer.
You have to realize that happiness is not something you find at the end of the road. You have to understand that it is here, now.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh
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