Tag: Joy

How to make the most out of life

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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

Trusting in goodness

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In order to communicate very openly with the world, you need to develop fundamental trust. This kind of trust is not trusting“in”something, but simply trusting. It is very much like your breath. You do not consciously hold on to your breath, or trust in your breath, yet breathing is your very nature. In the same way, to be trusting is your very nature. To be trusting means you are fundamentally free from doubt about your goodness and about the goodness of others.

Dr. Jeremy Hayward

Being fully present

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Today’s liturgy read from the gospel of Saint Luke,  the story of Martha and Mary. It is a well known tale. Jesus arrives in the house of his friends after a long journey. Martha is bothered, gets stressed and loses her  calm as she prepares something for him to eat. She complains that Mary is not helping but Jesus states that Mary has chosen the better part – the better way of being –  by simply sitting with him and listening.  It is frequently used to argue for the superiority of reflection over action; I think it is better understood as a priority in the cultivation of aspects of ourseves, both of which are necessary.

However, it also points to another teaching, namely one on being present. One of the greatest gifts we can all experience – and it seemed to have been true for Jesus also –   is knowing that another person is fully tuned into us. Sometimes we have to learn the art of being still so as to better support another person. In this story,  the greatest gift that Mary could offer was not to be useful,  but to be present. When we are lucky enough to have that connection with someone who is there for us, who really listens –  who instinctively senses deep down how we are –  then we are truly blessed.

Most people think of love as a feeling, but love is not so much a feeling as a way of being present.

David Richo

Don’t listen to yourself

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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

True connection

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Out beyond ideas
of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.

I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, – even the phrase “each other” –
do not make any sense.

Rumi

Six Simple Strategies for a Stress-Free Summer, 6.

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Learn to say No – there will always be Unfinished Business

Many of us have the tendency to measure how successful a day was in terms of things that we got done. We can even prioritize our to-do list items over other activities vital to our wellbeing, such as spending time with family and friends, having quiet time for ourselves, walking in nature. It can be relentless – as items on our “lists” are checked off, new ones simply replace them. What we need to see is that if we are only concerned with what’s not done, we will never find peace. Today let’s remind ourselves that the purpose of life is not to get it all done, but to “enjoy the ride.” On the day we die, there will still be unfinished business to take care of.  And ironically, someone else will do it for us!