When the Lakota leader Sitting Bull was asked by a white reporter why his people loved and respected him, Sitting Bull replied by asking if it was not true that among white people a man is respected because he has many horses, many houses? When the reporter replied that was indeed true, Sitting Bull then said that his people respected him because he kept nothing for himself.
Joseph Bruchac, Sacred Giving, Sacred Receiving
My peace is there in the receding mist
when I may cease from treading these long shifting thresholds
and live the space of a door
that opens and shuts
Samuel Beckett at his most zen-like.
What we call “I” is just a swinging door, which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.
Suzuki Roshi, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind.
No threshold need be a threat, but rather an invitation and a promise. Whatever comes, the great sacrament of life will remain faithful to us, blessing us always with visible signs of invisible grace. We merely need to trust.
John O’Donohue, To bless the space between us
One day I would like to make up my own DSM with a list of “disorders” I have seen in my practice. For example, I would want to include the diagnosis “psychological modernism,” an uncritical acceptance of the values of the modern world. It includes blind faith in technology, inordinate attachment to material gadgets and conveniences, uncritical acceptance of the march of scientific progress, devotion to the electronic media, and a life-style dictated by advertising
Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul
Sit in your room as in paradise;
put the whole world behind you and forget it;
like a skilled fisherman on the lookout for fish
keep a careful eye on your thoughts.
Simple, beautiful meditation instructions from The Brief Rule of Saint Romuald, c. 1006
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.
Maya Angelou
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