Ester asked why people are sad.
“That’s simple,” says the old man. “They are the prisoners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main aim is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or if it was created by another person. They accumulate experiences, memories, things, other people’s ideas, and it is more than they can possibly cope with. And that is why they forget their dreams.”
Paulo Coehlo, The Zahir
Yesterday, Irish people wished everyone a “Happy Saint Patrick’s Day” or if in the Irish language, “the blessings of Saint Patrick’s Day”. But what do these related terms “Happy” and “Blessed” mean?
By happiness I mean a deep sense of flourishing which comes from an exceptionally heathy mind
This is not a mere pleasurable feeling, a fleeting emotion or a mood, but an optimal state of being
Happiness is also a way of interpreting the world, since while it may be difficult to change the world, it is always possible to change the way we look at it.
Matthieu Ricard, Happiness
Let the bird sing without deciphering the song.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
For years and years I struggled
just to love my life. And then
the butterfly
rose, weightless, in the wind.
“don’t love your life
too much,” it said,
and vanished into the world.
Mary Oliver, One or Two Things
Peace can only exist in the present moment. It is ridiculous to say “Wait until I finish this, then I’ll be free to live in peace”. What is “this”? A diploma, a job, a house, the payment of debt? If you think that way peace will never come. There is always another “this” that will follow the present one. If you are not living in peace at this moment, you’ll never be able to. If you truly want to be at peace, you must be at peace right now. Otherwise there is only hope for peace “some day.”
Thich Nhat Hahn, The Sun my Heart
Michaelmas – the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. A big day in medieval times, with celebrations marking the end of the harvest and the last gathering in. What have we harvested in this year?
Strangely enough, it seems so much easier to remember the hurts, the failures and the rejections. It is much more common to gather our life energy around a hurt than a joy, for some sad reason. Remember the good things even more strongly than the bad, but learn from both. And most of all, as the prophet Baruch said, “rejoice that you are remembered by God” which is the Big Memory that can hold and receive all of the smaller ones.
Richard Rohr, Radical Grace: Daily Meditations
Mindfulbalance 