When you have no desire, everything is sufficient.
But when always seeking, then a lot of things seem impoverished.
However, plain vegetables can soothe hunger.
A patched robe is enough to cover this bent old body.
Alone, I hike with a deer. Cheerfully I sing with village children.
The stream beneath the cliff cleanses my ears.
The pine on the mountain top fills my heart.
Ryokan, 1758–1831
Bernie Glassman, a Zen teacher, has a practice called ‘Bearing Witness.’ You go into a hard, complex situation with the mind of not knowing, of having no idea or opinion, and instead, feel, listen, and be in the actual situation, becoming one with it. This nonjudgmental state of mind can position you so that you might be able to find a way to help, not out of your own need to make something better so that you feel better or in order to alleviate your own fear, but so that you act when empty of yourself. You get yourself out of the way.
Natalie Goldberg, The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language
Let life live you for a while
instead of trying to make yourself live life
Alan Watts
Our whole spiritual transformation
brings us to the point where we realize
that in our own being,
we are enough.
Ram Dass
Take a moment from time to time to remember that you are alive. I know this sounds a trifle obvious, but it is amazing how little time we take to remark upon this singular and gratifying fact. By the most astounding stroke of luck an infinitesimal portion of all the matter in the universe came together to create you and for the tiniest moment in the great span of eternity you have the incomparable privilege to exist.
Bill Bryson, 10 Simple Rules for Happiness, Graduate College Commencement Ceremony Address
Morning to night I am never done with looking
Looking, I mean not just standing around
but standing around as though with your arms open
Mary Oliver, Where Does the Temple Begin, Where Does It End?
