For Saint Patrick’s Day, an old Irish prayer, simple but profound in its wisdom on the mindful use of speech
A Íosa, Mhic Dé, a bhí ciúin os comhair Phioláit, ná lig dúinn ár dteanga a luascadh gan smaoineadh ar cad tá againn le rá agus conas é a rá.
O Jesus, Son of God,
who was silent before Pilate,
don’t let our tongues wag
without thinking about what we have to say
and how to say it.
The beauty of the world is revealed when we learn how to look
To photograph is to put the head, the eye and the heart on the same line of sight.
Henri Cartier-Bresson 1908 – 2004, French Photographer
Tozan, a famous Zen master, said:
“The blue mountain is the father of the white cloud. The white cloud is the son of the blue mountain. All day long they depend on each other, without being dependent on each other. The white cloud is always the white cloud. The blue mountain is always the blue mountain.”
This is a pure, clear interpretation of life. There may be many things like the white cloud and the blue mountain: man and woman, teacher and disciple. …They are quite independent, but yet dependent. This is how we live, and how we practice.
Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
The nature of rain is the same,
but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.
Arab Saying
On the other hand, you could just relax and realize that, behind all the worry, complaint and disapproval that goes on in your mind, the sun is always coming up in the morning, moving across the sky, and going down in the evening. The birds are always out there collecting their food and making their nests and flying across the sky. The grass is always being blown by the wind or standing still. Food and flowers and trees are growing out of the earth. There’s enormous richness.
You could envelop your passion for life and your curiosity and your interest. You could connect with your joyfulness.
You could start right now.
Pema Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape
Sometimes I need only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed
Mary Oliver, It was Early
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