Two Taoist concepts – wu wei “effortless action.” and xin zhai “not feeding the heart-mind.” – to guide us in this New Year
Flow with whatever may happen,
and let your mind be at ease.
Zhuang Zhou, 4th Century BCE, Zhuangzi, chapter 7
At any time you can ask yourself: At which threshold am I now standing? At this time in my life, what am I leaving? Where am I about to enter? What is preventing me from crossing my next threshold? What gift would enable me to do it?
A threshold is not a simple boundary; it is a frontier that divides two different territories, rhythms, and atmospheres.
John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us
We often search for happiness by adding things to our lives: more experiences, more possessions, more achievements. But sometimes happiness is found not by adding, but by subtracting. Subtract the constant pressure, the busyness, the noise. Create space through rest. Happiness is like a shy animal; it will not come out if we are constantly crashing through the forest. Sit quietly, rest, and it may appear on its own.
Joseph Emet, Buddha’s Book of Happiness: Teachings for Achieving Lasting Peace, Joy, and Fearlessness
Hope has holes
in its pockets.
It leaves little
crumb trails
so that we,
when anxious,
can follow it.
Hope’s secret:
it doesn’t know
the destination –
it knows only
that all roads
begin with one
foot in front
of the other.
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, American poet, Hope’s Secret
Komorebi (木漏れ日) is a beautiful Japanese word for the light filtering through trees – everchanging – reminding us of the fleeting uniqueness of each moment.
Understanding this leads to a contentment with the Universe and with oneself.
Not a bad philosophy for a New Year…
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
Mary Oliver, When I am Among the Trees
We are not victims of the past; but rather, authors of our own purpose.
No experience is in itself a cause of our success or failure.
We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences – the so-called trauma – but instead we make out of them whatever suits our purposes.
We are not determined by our experiences, but the meaning we give them is self-determining
Ichiro Kishimi, The Courage to Be Disliked
Mindfulbalance 