Finally I am coming to the conclusion
that my highest ambition is to be what I already am.
Thomas Merton
Tag: Joy
Light in the darkness
When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen….
Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world,
Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light.
Know that you are not alone,
And that this darkness has purpose
John O’Donohue, For Courage (extract)
Sunday Quote: waiting
It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life
waiting to start living.
Eckhart Tolle
The Source is full
Everything you see has its roots
in the unseen world.
The forms may change,
yet the essence remains the same.
Every wondrous sight will vanish,
every sweet word will fade.
But do not be disheartened,
The Source they come from is eternal–
growing, branching out,
giving new life and new joy.
Why do you weep?–
That Source is within you,
and this whole world
is springing up from it.
The Source is full,
its waters are ever-flowing;
Do not grieve,
drink your fill!
Don’t think it will ever run dry —
This is the endless Ocean!
Rumi, A Garden beyond Paradise
Entrusting oneself to heaven
When one has given up chasing after happiness…
Traveling through this world
I have entrusted myself to Heaven.
In my sack, three quarts of rice;
By the hearth, a bundle of firewood.
If someone asks what is the mark of enlightenment or illusion
I cannot say – wealth and honor are nothing but dust.
As the evening rain falls, I sit in my hermitage.
And stretch out both feet in answer
Ryoken, 1758–1831, Zen Buddhist monk and poet
Each moment is precious
One day we’ll lie down and not get up.
One day, all we guard will be surrendered.
Until then, we’ll go on learning to recognize
what we love, and what it takes
to tend what isn’t for our having.
So often, fear has led me
to abandon what I know I must relinquish
in time. But for the moment,
I’ll listen to her dream,
and she to mine, our mutual hearing calling
more and more detail into the light
of a joint and fragile keeping.
Li-Young Lee, To Hold (extract)
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