There is no such thing as a charmed life, not for any of us, no matter where we live or how mindfully we attend to the tasks at hand. But there are charmed moments, all the time, in every life and in every day, if we are only awake enough to experience them when they come and wise enough to appreciate them.
Katrina Kenison, The Gift of an Ordinary Day
I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.
Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don’t go off somewhere else!
Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of
imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are.
Kabir
If you want the truth, I will tell you the truth:
Listen to the secret sound,
the real sound,
which is within you
Kabir
A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. ‘Right,’ ‘wrong,’ ‘success,’ ‘failure, ‘ lucky’, ‘unlucky’ may be as limiting a way of seeing things as ‘diabetic’, ‘epileptic’, ‘manic-depressive’ ….. Labeling sets up an expectation of life that is often so compelling we can no longer see things as they really are. This expectation often gives us a false sense of familiarity toward something that is really new and unprecedented. We are in relationship with our expectations and not with life itself.. Belief traps or frees us. Labels may become self-fulfilling prophecies.
Rachel Naomi Remen
photo rinina25
I have posted this before but, like most of our practice, it is something we need to remember, or be mindful of. At times we fall into the trap of complaining, causing suffering for ourselves or others:
We often ask, ‘what’s wrong?’ Doing so, we invite painful seeds of sorrow to come up and manifest. We feel suffering, anger, and depression, and produce more such seeds. We would be much happier if we tried to stay in touch with the healthy, joyful seeds inside of us and around us. We should learn to ask, ‘what’s not wrong?’ and be in touch with that.
Thich Nhat Hahn
photo steven depolo
Things don’t change.
You change your way of looking, that’s all
Carlos Castanada
photo roberto strauss
