In moments of darkness and pain
remember all is cyclical.
Sit quietly behind your wooden door
Spring will come again
Loy Ching-Yuen (1873 – 1960) Chinese Taoist tai chi master.
Tag: Be fully present
Blown by the wind
A big storm with gale force winds hit Ireland overnight, causing high waves and uprooting trees, disrupting schedules and causing difficulties for normal activities. Although unusual, such an event is a useful metaphor for how our minds are at times, as we are subject to moods or get caught up in – and blown along by – the swirling events of a day. Life can create a succession of different storms, events and emotions that can unseat or destabilize us. What we are trying to do in meditation is to sit and tame this mind, cultivating a still center which does not get hooked by the winds of mood and of events:
The stillpoint, the centeredness – that’s awareness. When I cannot notice it and go out into the turning world, I become a person and get caught in my habits, my loves and hates, my likes and dislikes. But if I am centered at this point, it’s like the island you cannot go beyond, or the stillpoint of the turning world, the eye of the storm. And then the world revolves around it. The mood you are in is not the stillness. The mood comes and goes. It changes, revolves; it’s happy, sad, elated, depressed, inspired, bored, loving, hateful, and on and on like this….It’s so easy to say “I’m in a bad mood” or “I’m in a good mood” Our langauge is like that, so we become the mood – “I feel happy today, everything’s fine” or “Today is one of my bad days”. That’s why I encourage this investigation of thought, so that you are not creating yourself, endlessly reinforcing the sense of self through your proliferating thoughts.
Ajahn Sumedho, The Sound of Silence
photo mcmimages1965
In the details
The secret of happiness
lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life,
and in elevating them to art.
William Morris, English Designer, 1834 – 1896
Once we notice…
The aspects of things that are most important for us
are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity.
And this means: we fail to be struck by what, once seen,
is most striking and most powerful.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations
photo dave parker
Following our dreams
What if, on the first sunny day,
on your way to work, a colorful bird
sweeps in front of you down a
street you’ve never heard of.
You might pause and smile,
a sweet beginning to your day.
Or you might step into that street
and realize there are many ways to work.
You might sense the bird knows some-
thing you don’t and wander after.
You might hesitate when the bird
turns down an alley. For now
there is a tension: Is what the
bird knows worth being late?
You might go another block or two,
thinking you can have it both ways.
But soon you arrive at the edge
of all your plans.
The bird circles back for you
and you must decide which
appointment you were
born to keep.
Mark Nepo, The Appointment
photo The Liliac Breasted Roller
Sunday Quote: Planning
No valid plans for the future can be made
by those who have no capacity for living now
Alan Watts
photo mattbuck
