When we train in letting go of thinking that anything — including ourselves — is either good or bad, we open our minds to practice with forgiveness and humor. And we practice opening to a compassionate space in which good/bad judgments can dissolve. We practice letting go of our idea of a “goal” and letting go of our concept of “progress,” because right there, in that process of letting go, is where our hearts open and soften — over and over again.
Pema Chodron
All we need to do is awaken to the here-and-now
– to stop jabbering to ourselves –
and be present in this moment.
Steve Hagen
Today is the first day of Spring. The weather is beautiful here at the moment and it is easy to feel the “joys of spring”. The cherry blossom and magnolia trees are in bloom. Time passes quickly. I can remember taking photographs of the same magnolia tree last year. Short term joys come easily; Long term happiness develops when we see into their true nature:
In Spring, hundreds of flowers.
In Summer, refreshing breeze.
In Autumn, a harvest moon.
In Winter, snowflakes accompany you.
If you do not have
the upside-down views
every season is
a good season for you.
Buddhist classic texts (translated by Eido Shimano Roshi)
Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles
and the water is clear?
Lao Tzu
….but like all the truths about mindfulness, it does not mean it is easy. However, it does help us to recall that meditation is a simple human capacity, not a strange esoteric exercise. It can be a useful reminder when we are busy or stressed. At times like that, the brain moves into survival mode, and increases its thinking about – and analysis of – the “problem” It becomes convinced that the best way to work with stress is to get busy and think a lot. When this happens, you can find yourself constantly replaying something in your mind or dwelling on the ins and outs of it all, even through the night. This active brain resists moments of inactivity, such as meditation, seeing it as being less useful. Ironically, it may be the most useful thing that can be done in these periods and taking the pressure off doing it, by seeing it as being as natural as breathing, can help.
To be a part, that is fulfillment for us:
to be integrated with our solitude into a state that can be shared.
Rilke
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