Everything inside and everything around us wants to reflect itself in us.
We don’t have to go anywhere to obtain the truth.
We only need to be still and things will reveal themselves in the still water of the heart
Thich Nhat Hahn
Tag: Joy
Each life makes a difference…..
Somedays, one realizes the truth of this more than at other times….We can see that we are not just “visiting” the world. We should not underestimate how we can support one another when we are there through good times and bad, and how our lives affect each other and have value.
I think of each life as a flower, as common as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth tending as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth.…..
When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.
Mary Oliver
When weakness becomes a place of joy
Today we had a beautiful early Spring morning, and it was a lovely background for the second session of the MBSR Programme where the majority of participants are volunteers for the new Hospice soon to open in Geneva. I was reflecting on the type of presence we have with others, and how to create a space to tune into them, especially when they are weak. And later one I was reflecting in my own life how the fundamental lesson is learning to accept our own weakness and what a freedom it is when we see that we are accepted and loved. Sadly, we often pick up the opposite message when we are little, that our worth comes from our competence and what we can do for others. It is great to let go of that and realize that we are accepted even when we are at our worst, when we make mistakes, even when we let others down. That is the greatest joy, a letting go and an end to striving.
Our lives are a mystery of growth from weakness to weakness, from the weakness of the little baby to the weakness of the aged. Throughout our lives we are prone to fatigue, sickness and accidents. Weakness is at the heart of each one of us. Weakness becomes a place of chaos and confusion, if in our weakness we are not wanted; it becomes a place of peace and joy, if we are accepted, listened to, appreciated and loved.
If we deny our weakness and the reality of death, if we want to be powerful and strong always, we deny part of our being, we live an illusion.
Jean Vanier Becoming Human
Practicing mindfulness: Come back to the present as much as possible
Today I rose early and the weather had cleared after yesterday’s rain. It was a lovely fresh morning, before the cloud and mist moved in again. The birds are beginning to sing again and there was a sense of light and joy. Bright mornings make it easy to feel clear and spacious within. And when we do, we find it not so difficult to be kind. It makes it possible to believe in the natural goodness deep inside us. However, even with bright starts on days like this we can still see that the mind has brief moments when it can get confused and dark. When a combination of circumstances come together that frighten us, we can become flustered and defensive. It is always interesting to see the mind’s capacity to wander from the way things are and live in thoughts and wonderings and wishing things were other, with the potential narrowing that this brings.
In sitting practice we are reminded to practice “starting over” – to return again and again to the breath when the mind wanders, without being harsh with ourselves. It is a lesson for life also. We frequently get distracted. We sometimes get lost. And then we wander away from the natural kindness that exists when we are calm. So the practice is to simply try to start over again, by dropping into this moment, noticing what we are doing, becoming conscious of the breath or of the sensations in our body. We do not need to add the extra judgment about how unworthy our behaviour makes us to the existing situation. We do not make a drama out of it. We acknowledge honestly and simply that we have gotten lost, or are in the wrong, and then go back to start over again.
Practice for this day: Noticing beauty around us
Beauty and grace are performed
whether or not we will or sense them.
The least we can do is try to be there.
Annie Dillard
Smile, life is good
How can you remember to smile when you wake up? You might hang a reminder–such as a branch, a leaf, a painting, or some inspiring words – so that you notice it when you wake up.
Once you develop the practice of smiling, you may not need a reminder. You will smile as soon as you hear a bird singing or see the sunlight streaming through the window.
Smiling helps you approach the day with gentleness and understanding.
Thich Nhat Hahn
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