The perfect prayer

When I rise up
let me rise up joyful
like a bird

When I fall
let me fall without regret
like a leaf.

Wendell Berry, Prayers and Sayings of the Mad Farmer

Sunday Quote: listen to the heart

Intellect gets you to the door,

but it doesn’t take you into the house.

Shams-i Tabrīzī, 1185–1248, Persian poet

Often we don’t know

It’s like driving a car at night.

You never see further than your headlights,

but you can make the whole trip that way.

E. L. Doctorow, 1931 – 2015, American novelist

…at peace

What a gift when we can finally make peace with ourselves.

It is time to apply some self-acceptance whenever we find ourselves trying to impress others, wondering whether we’re good enough, or trying too hard to say the right thing.

Melody Beattie

No Matter what

If you remember nothing else, always remember this one great secret: we don’t have to feel any particular way. We don’t have to have special experiences, nor do we have to be any particular way. With whatever arises, whether it’s pleasing or not, try to remember that all we can do is experience and work with whatever our life is right now. No matter what life is and no matter how we feel about it, all that matters in practice is whether we can honestly acknowledge what is going on, and then stay present with the physical experience of that moment.

Ezra Bayda, Zen Heart

Sunday Quote: Resilience

So few grains of happiness
measured against all the dark
and still the scales balance.

The world asks of us
only the strength we have and we give it.
Then it asks more, and we give it.

Jane Hirshfield, The Weighing