What is precious
inside us does not
care to be known
by the mind
in ways that diminish
its presence.
David Whyte, The Winter of Listening [extract]
Don’t know
Tag: Present moment
Sunday Quote: Complete
There is not a fragment in all nature,
for every relative fragment of one thing is a full harmonious unit in itself
John Muir
Saturday silence
Silence can be a plan
rigorously executed
the blueprint to a life
It is a presence
it has a history a form
Do not confuse it
with any kind of absence.
It was an old theme even for me:
Language cannot do everything
Adrienne Rich, Cartographies of Silence, 3 and 7 [extracts]
Nurture not force
Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu. Gentle is the one who does ‘not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick.’ Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let’s dress ourselves with gentleness.
Henri Nouwen
Transfiguration
Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration.
You don’t have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness to see.
Only, who could have the courage to see it.
Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
Know how to be happy
I like this idea of over-borrowing, always demanding more from the present moment.
If you know how to be happy with the wonders of life that are already there for you to enjoy, you don’t need to stress your mind and your body by striving harder and harder, and you don’t need to stress this planet by purchasing more and more stuff. The Earth belongs to our children. We have already borrowed too much from it…..Much of our modern way of life is permeated by mindless over-borrowing. The more we borrow, the more we lose. That’s why it’s critical that we wake up and see we don’t need to do that anymore. What’s already available in the here and now is plenty for us to be nourished, to be happy.
Thich Nhat Hahn
Mindfulbalance 