And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved,
to feel myself
beloved on the earth.
Raymond Carver, written during his last, terminal, illness
What do you want
Tag: impermanence
The uncreated
We frequently identify with the mental creations that have come together during our childhood to form our “personality”, but often these are fear-based and limiting.
The Buddha called the deepest dimension of the self, and the deepest dimension of reality, the “unborn” or the “uncreated.” In the Khuddaka Nikaya, the Buddha declared: “There is an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed…. Since there is an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, and unformed, therefore there is an escape from the world of the born, originated, created and formed”.
Modern spiritual masters call that depth dimension the “ground of being.” In that ground, there is neither time nor space. Because there’s no time or space, there is no history. Because there is no history, there is only freedom….The Buddha was right. There is an escape from alienation, separation, and fear, and that escape is the awakening to the deepest dimension of our own self.
Andrew Cohen, The Only Place in the Universe
Cycles
Anytime we forget to let go, life will jog us back into remembering. There is nothing that we can cling to in this world. Ultimately, all that we hold dear will require us to let go, in some shape or form. That child will grow up and leave home. That love relationship that’s going so wonderfully? A new cycle will come, in its time. That friendship will change. That job you thought you’d always have? Oops, the company merged. Your position is changed.
Although long-term relationships and secure employment and living in that house feels good, remember, that’s not where your security lies.
Let yourself bond. Let yourself enjoy being friends with the best friend you’ve ever had. Be a loving parent, 100 percent. Throw yourself into that job with all your heart and soul. But your security and joy are not in that other person or job. [It}.. is in you.
Melody Beattie
The little things
But maybe that’s the way it should be.
Maybe working on the little things as dutifully and honestly as we can is how we stay sane when the world is falling apart
Haruki Murakami, Samsa in Love
May your wings protect us
Lead us to those we are waiting for,
Those who are waiting for us.
May your wings protect us,
may we not be strangers in the lush province of joy.
Remember us who are weak.
You who are strong in your country which lies beyond the thunder,
Raphael, angel of happy meeting,
resplendent, hawk of the light.
Charles Wright, American Poet, 1935 – , Flannery’s Angel
The five remembrances
Reminders to live fully, with joy and a deep appreciation of this precious human life.
The Buddha recommends that we recite the “Five Remembrances” every day:
1. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
2. I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health.
3. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
4. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
5. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.
Thich Nhat Hahn
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