Refuse to fall down
If you cannot refuse to fall down,
refuse to stay down.
If you cannot refuse to stay down,
lift your heart toward heaven,
and like a hungry beggar,
ask that it be filled.
You may be pushed down.
You may be kept from rising.
But no one can keep you from lifting your heart
toward heaven
only you.
It is in the middle of misery
that so much becomes clear.
The one who says nothing good
came of this,
is not yet listening.
Clarissa Pinkola Estés, A Prayer
Ireland moving back to much tighter restrictions again for 6 weeks, requiring that our inner resources be strong:
Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to was never there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it.
Where is there a place for you to be? No place […] Nothing outside you can give you any place […]
In yourself right now is all the place you’ve got.
Flannery O’Connor, 1925 – 1964, American novelist, Wise Blood
Eternity is not infinity
It is not a long time
It does not begin at the end of time
It does not run parallel to time
In its entirety it always was
In its entirety it will always be
It is entirely present always
Wendell Berry, Leavings
Sometimes, to get from where we are to where we are going, we have to be willing to be in-between…..Being in-between isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. It will not last forever. It may feel like we’re standing still, but were not. We’re standing at the in-between place. It’s how we get from here to there. It is not the destination. We are moving forward, even when we’re in-between. Today, I will accept where I am as the ideal place for me to be. If I am in-between, I will strive for the faith that this place is not without purpose, that it is moving me toward something good.
Melodie Beattie
Your relationship to time reveals your capacity to trust that whatever is present each day, you can handle; otherwise it would not be there. The surprising or unexpected happenings of each day reveal your attachments and teach you about your ability or inability to remain flexible. In what ways are you manifesting the 5 simple qualities of childlike openness:
Not worrying about your daily bread
Not complaining when you fall sick
Sharing whatever you have
When you fight or quarrel, not holding a grudge and making up quickly
Showing your vulnerability when frightened or threatened.
Angelus Arrien
One of the Japanese words for mind is kokoro. The word koro is the onomatopoeia for “rolling along.” Something that rolls like a ball is koro koro koro. So kokoro is something that is always moving and changing, never stopped. There is no object or form that we can identify as mind. It is always changing. Though we are always looking for something to rely on, we cannot find it in something called mind.
From the excellent book I am reading at the moment:
Shodo Harada , 1940 – Rinzai Zen abbot, Not One Single Thing: A Commentary on the Platform Sutra
Mindfulbalance 