Tag: Nature

The key is to relax

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This fundamental richness is available in each moment. The key is to relax: relax to a cloud in the sky, relax to a tiny bird with grey wings, relax to the sound of a telephone ringing. We can see the simplicity in things as they are. We can smell things, taste things, feel emotions and have memories. When we are able to be there without saying “I certainly agree with that” or “I definitely don’t agree with that”  but just be here very directly, then we find fundamental richness everywhere. It is not our or theirs but is available to everyone. In raindrops, in blood drops, in heartache and delight, this wealth is in the nature of everything. It is like the sun that shines on everyone without discrimination.

Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart

The foundation of all: How to nourish your inner life

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This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know:

that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness

Mary Oliver

Running away from things, we do not live life directly

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It seems the more we express, that is, the more we bring out what is in, the more alive we are. The more we give voice to our pain in  living, the less build up we have between our soul and our way in the world. However, the more we push down and keep in, the smaller we become. The more we stuff between our heart and our daily experience, the more we have to work through to feel life directly. Our unexpressed life can become a callous we carry around and manicure, but never remove…..Just as flowers need healthy root systems in order to blossom, feelings can only express their beauty when they are rooted cleanly within us, breaking ground in some manner, sprouting outside us.

Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

Freshness

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We had such welcome rain last night. We are already on water restrictions here. Ok, maybe not good for the planned barbecue, but great for the plants and the garden, and especially for the farmers.  There is a freshness that only comes after a storm, as well as growth that only comes with the rain. The law is universal, not just for Nature but also for our inner life.  There are times we need to shelter a while but in the morning after we  find everything fresher and more alive.

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

John Muir

Roots in the past 2: Suffering has an internal cause

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Suffering comes from how the mind interacts with pain. Because your mind is conditioned by past life events, when it encounters an experience it perceives as painful or unpleasant, there is immediate and direct suffering that is far greater than the actual discomfort of the situation. The increased discomfort happens in your mind, not in the actual experience. This means suffering has an internal cause, and you therefore have the ability to affect how much you suffer – you can dance with life and be a partner in how your life unfolds. With mindfulness of the cause of suffering, what is unpleasant simply remains unpleasant, even though it is not your preference.

Philip Moffitt, Dancing with Life

Sunday Quote: Reflections after welcome rain

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The body endures the storms of the present only,

the mind those of the past and future as well as the present.

Epicurus