Tag: Joy

Simple advice for mental health: pause and notice

Karl Duffy3 Comments

 

There is often a harmony between ancient stories and modern psychology. Yesterday’s reading in the Catholic liturgy reminded us to “stay awake“. When the Buddha started to teach, he met some who,  recognizing something special in him, asked: “Are you a god?” He simply replied: “I am awake.”

So…. staying aware of what is around us, pausing and noticing –  not taking small things too seriously or getting submerged in the worries of this Monday –  seems to be related to psychological health.

Goethe gives us a simple practical way :

A man should hear a little music,

read a little poetry,

and see a fine picture every day of his life,

in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful

which God has implanted in the human soul.

Goethe

Sunday Quote: Part of something deeper

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

 

No matter how small we feel in our daily situation,  we are always part of something  greater.

Even for the simple flight of a butterfly, 

all of the sky is necessary.

Paul Claudel,  1868 – 1955, French poet and dramatist. 

Même pour le simple envol d’un papillon, tout le ciel est nécessaire.

 

A letting go practice

Karl Duffy2 Comments

November is the month of letting go of what is no longer needed or has fulfilled its purpose, just as trees now release the last season’s leaves. In China, an old proverb speaks to this: “Give away, throw away or move 27 items for nine days and your life will change.” The practice of letting go teaches us about non-attachment. The process of releasing or emptying provides room for new possibilities, opportunities, and blessings to enter our lives. In November we can readily see how much we have to be thankful for compared to our troubles and dissatisfactions. As we extend gratitude for the bounty and goodness that are present in our lives, any pockets of ingratitude that once seemed large in our imaginations become dwarfed- nearly nonexistent. 

Angeles Arrien 1940 – 2014, Cultural anthropologist.

The driving force

Karl Duffy5 Comments

 

Today, November 2nd, is traditionally the day that we remember those close to us who have died and gone before us

All men should strive to learn before they die,

what they are running from,

and to, and why.

James Thurber

Sunday Quote: Kindness

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Modern society prizes intelligence, achievements or efficiency…

What wisdom can you find

that is greater than kindness?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Quelle sagesse trouverez-vous supérieure à la bonté?

Not complicated but complex

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Real life is not complicated but it is rich and complex,

and always has some element of mystery and what is not known.

Sometimes problems arise when we think it should all be straightforward.

There is no paradise,

no place of true completion

that does not include within its walls the unknown.

Jane Hirshfield