The storm is over; too bad, I say.
At least storms are clear
about their dangerous intent.
Ordinary days are what I fear,
the sneaky speed
with which noon arrives, the sun shining while a government darkens
a decade or a man falls out of love.
I fear the solace of repetition, a withheld slap in the face.
Stephen Dunn, Ordinary Days
Find your hope, then, on the ground under your feet.
Your hope of Heaven, let it rest on the ground underfoot.
The world is no better than its places. Its places at last
are no better than their people while their people
continue in them. When the people make
dark the light within them, the world darkens.
Wendell Berry
You live,
not by securing yourself against impermanence,
but by finding yourself as impermanence
Michael Stone, Awake in the World
Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. …When we are brave enough to stay in the middle, compassion arises spontaneously. By not knowing, not hoping to know, and not acting like we know what’s happening, we begin to access our inner strength.
Pema Chodron
I have simply stopped arguing with reality. How do I know the wind should blow? It’s blowing. How do I know this is the highest order? It’s happening.
Arguing with ‘what is’ is like teaching a cat to bark. It’s not very fulfilling… The way I know that reality is good is that when I argue the point I experience tension, fear and frustration. I lose – not sometimes, but 100% of the time. It just doesn’t feel natural inside: no balance, no connection. I want reality to change? Hopeless. Let me change my thinking. Some of us mentally argue with ‘what is.’ Others of us attempt to control and change ‘what is,’ and then tell ourselves and others that we actually had something to do with any apparent change that took place.
Byron Katie
In the pursuit of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.
True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can’t be gained by interfering
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching,
Mindfulbalance 