But I always think that the best way to know God
is to love many things
Vincent van Gogh
with thanks to Nicolas for the photo
Tag: Life
Living with our fears
A quote from the – always thought-provoking – teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh, who is in hospital having suffered a brain hemorrhage a few days ago, in response to the request from his community for our thoughts and support. It suggests a way of working with whatever frightens us – illness, not knowing, demands in work and life that seem too challenging, our own sense of not being good enough:
The first part of looking at our fear is just inviting it into our awareness without judgment. We just acknowledge gently that it is there. This brings a lot of relief already. Then, once our fear has calmed down, we can embrace it tenderly and look deeply into its roots, its sources. Understanding the origins of our anxieties and fears will help us let go of them. Is our fear coming from something that is happening right now or is it an old fear, a fear from when we were small that we’ve kept inside? When we practice inviting all our fears up, we become aware that we are still alive, that we still have many things to treasure and enjoy. If we are not pushing down and managing our fear, we can enjoy the sunshine, the fog, the air, and the water. If you can look deep into your fear and have a clear vision of it, then you really can live a life that is worthwhile.
photo oyvind holmstad
Getting sucked in
Mindfulness also means to remember… what? Mindfulness pulls us back to a greater living reality, reminding us that life is more than our own repetitive thoughts or fears or desires. Rooted in the present tense world of the body rather than the thoughts, the strangely named mindfulness (bodyfulness? Lifefulness?) delivers us from the hellish centrifugal force of our own egos.
Tracy Cochran, The Open Door
photo justin 1569
A story about workplaces and days
There’s a story that Ed Brown, the Zen chef , tells about his early days with his teacher, Suzuki Roshi. Ed was the head cook at Tassajara Zen Mountain Centre in California in the 1960s and was well known for his volatile temper. Once, in a fury, he went to his teacher and complained about the state of the kitchen: people didn’t clean up properly; people talked too much; people were distracted and unmindful. It was chaos on a daily basis. Suzuki Roshi’s reply was simple: “Ed, if you want a calm kitchen, calm your mind”
Found in Pema Chodron, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change, with thanks to Bianca for the loan of the book
photo jeppestown
Sunday Quote: Avoiding
Often we find it easier to think our way around things
rather than to feel our way through them
Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening
photo rudi winter
A Deep dream
I’ve spent many years learning
how to fix life, only to discover
at the end of the day
that life is not broken
There is a hidden seed of greater wholeness
in everyone and everything.
We serve life best
when we water it
and befriend it.
When we listen before we act.
In befriending life,
we do not make things happen
according to our own design.
We uncover something that is already happening
in us and around us and
create conditions that enable it.
Everything is moving toward its place of wholeness
always struggling against the odds.
Everything has a deep dream of itself and its fulfillment.
Rachel Naomi Remen, Everything has a Deep Dream
(redone as a poem by Meg Wheatley).
photo Ude
