It’s like lying in bed before dawn and hearing rain on the roof……..
This simple sound can be disappointing because we were planning a picnic. It can be pleasing because our garden is so dry. But the flexible mind doesn’t draw conclusions of good or bad. It perceives the sound without adding anything extra, without judgments of happy or sad.
Pema Chodron, Comfortable with Uncertainty
There is an old story of a famous rabbi living in Europe who was visited one day by a man who had traveled by ship from New York to see him. The man came to the great rabbi’s dwelling, a large house on a street in a European city, and was directed to the rabbi’s room, which was in the attic. He entered to find the master living in a room with a bed, a chair, and a few books. The man had expected much more. After greetings, he asked, “Rabbi, where are your things?” The rabbi asked in return, “Well, where are yours?” His visitor replied, “But, Rabbi, I’m only passing through,” and the master answered, “So am I, So am I.”
This is not a lesson to be put off. One great teacher explained it this way: “The trouble with you is that you think you have time.” We don’t know how much time we have. What would it be like to live with the knowledge that this may be our last year, our last week, our last day? In light of this question, we can choose a path with heart.
Jack Kornfield, Path With Heart
“How shall I experience my oneness with creation?”
“By listening,” said the Master.
“And how am I to listen?”
“Become an ear that gives heed to every single thing the universe is saying. The moment you hear something you yourself are saying, stop.”
Anthony de Mello
The trick is not how much pain you feel but how much joy you feel.
Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live, excuses not to love, excuses, excuses, excuses.
Erica Jong
We… anticipate what’s to come,
then ignore what’s actually here.
Stephen Rechtschaffen
Opening to possibilities is empowering; Falling into expectations is crippling. Recognize the difference and free yourself.
Philipp Moffitt
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