Sunday Quote: imposing your preferences

Allow life to unfold without trying to force it into the shape imagined by the mind.

Work at allowing more things to unfold in your life

without forcing them to happen

and without rejecting the ones that don’t fit your idea of

what “should” be happening.

Jon Kabat Zinn, Wherever you go, There you Are

Among the trees

I go among the trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.

My tasks lie in their places
where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Wendell Berry I Go Among Trees and Sit Still

Need less…

If you feel that your dreams aren’t coming true, you might think that you need to do more, or to think and strategize more.

In fact, what you might need is less – less noise coming to you from both inside and outside -so that you have the space for your heart’s truest intention to germinate and flourish

Thich Nhat Hanh, Silence

Step back…

If you are distressed by anything external,

the pain is not due to the thing itself,

but to your estimate of it;

and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 8, §47, i

walk slowly..

If you find yourself rushing or becoming impatient, slowing the pace can help take the edge off your rushing

and remind you that you are here now,

and that when you get there, you will be there.

If you miss the here, you are likely also to miss the there.

Jon Kabat Zinn, Wherever you Go, There you Are

Sunday Quote: always comparing

Contentment isn’t about getting what you want – it’s about being at peace with what is.

When you stop measuring life by your preferences,

the heart settles into a natural ease.

Ajahn Sucitto, Kamma and the End of Kamma