A bird gets up every morning and sings its song.
It does not wait to hear what other birds are singing, nor does it look to see if another bird is getting more notice. It knows its song innately and sings.
This is nature: knowing your own song
Michele Oka Doner, 1945 – American artist and author
Do your work,
then step back
– the only path to peacefulness.
Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching
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
For in the true nature of things,
if we rightly consider,
every green tree is far more glorious
than if it were made of silver or gold
Martin Luther King
If you view everything as practice,
your suffering will disappear.
Shido Bunan, 1603-1676, Zen Master
In the Middle Ages, anyone could gain protection from other people – even the legal authorities – by simply running into a sacred building and saying the word “Sanctuary!” This ritual triggered a system of safety respected by everyone in the society.
Simple rituals like saying “Sanctuary!” signal to our bodies and minds that we’ve entered a sacred recovery space. By creating your own small rituals, you can teach your mind and body to drop into this healing state.
Once you have a place, a time, and a ritual, you can touch in with the peaceful energy of sanctuary any time you feel especially vulnerable. We can all recover a bit of peace, confidence, and hope whenever we need it. The door inside us – the state of mind that leads to peace – is real. It opens to an infinite sacred space in our own hearts, minds, and souls. And that is real as well. If we go there and ask for sanctuary, we can always find it. Little by little, breath by breath, our spirits can recover from anything.
Martha Beck Blog, How to seek sanctuary in a Time of Chaos
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