Our tendency to compare nearly always robs us of joy
and stops us living fully the life that we actually have.
What you do not have you find everywhere
W.S. Merwin, American Poet, born 1927, Provision
photo evelyn simak
Tag: Meditation
Open to surprise
Gorgeous amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention:
Mangoes, Grandchildren, Bach, ponds…
This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible.
If you say, “Well, that’s pretty much what I thought I’d see,” you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here.
[…] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: Three Essential Prayers
photo: laitche
Sunday Quote: Desert moments
No one escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land.
Annie Dillard
photo peter dowley
Endings are also beginnings
Become totally empty. Let your heart be at peace.
Amidst the rush of things coming and going,
observe how endings become beginnings.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
To see beginnings and endings is a great support in difficult times. Early on, as I began to trust in the fiber of my being that nothing lasts, I became less afraid of pain. The fact that everything has an end comforted me. “One way or another,” I would say to myself, “this too will pass.” I was glad I saw that…the end of the day is the beginning of the night, and that a dead rose becomes compost for new growth….When I recognize the pain I feel as the legitimate result of loss, I am respectful of its presence and kind to myself. My mind always relaxes when it is kind, and around the edges of the truth of whatever has ended, I see displays of what might be beginning.
Sylvia Boorstein
photo dominicus johannes bergsma
When we feel fear
If you find yourself doubting or hesitating today…
The next time you encounter fear, consider yourself lucky. This is where the courage comes in. Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear. When I was first married, my husband said I was one of the bravest people he knew. When I asked him why, he said because I was a complete coward but went ahead and did things anyhow.
Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart
photo dwight sipler
Stop pushing
In one of his insightful talks Zen master Shunryu Suzuki said that in your practice you should walk like an elephant. “If you can walk slowly, without any idea of gain, then you are already a good Zen student.” There’s a mantra for your religion: Walk like an elephant. It means to move at a comfortable pace. No rushing toward a goal. No push to make it all meaningful.
Thomas Moore, A Religion of One’s Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World
photo charlesjsharp
with thanks to the always inspiring and nourishing blog https://davidkanigan.com/
