Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
John O Donohue, A Blessing for One who is Exhausted
It always happens when we are on the way to some appointment….trapped in our schedules, trapped in our cars…
Our old people noticed this from the beginning. They said that the white man lived in a world of cages, and that if we didn’t look out, they would make us live in cages too.
So we started noticing. Everything looked like cages. Your clothes fit like cages. Your houses looked like cages. You put your fences around your yards so they looked like cages. Everything was a cage. You turned the land into cages. Little squares. Then after you had all these cages you made a government to protect these cages. And that government was all cages. All laws about what you couldn’t do. The only freedom you had was inside your own cage. Then you wondered why you weren’t happy and didn’t feel free.
You made all the cages, then you wondered why you didn’t feel free.
Kent Nerburn, Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder
photo eric jones
If you find yourself doubting or hesitating today…
The next time you encounter fear, consider yourself lucky. This is where the courage comes in. Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear. When I was first married, my husband said I was one of the bravest people he knew. When I asked him why, he said because I was a complete coward but went ahead and did things anyhow.
Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart
photo dwight sipler
Be patient with everyone, but above all, with yourself.
I mean, do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage.
I am glad you make a fresh beginning daily.
There is no better means of attainment to the spiritual life than by continually beginning again…
How are we to be patient in dealing with our neighbor’s faults if we are impatient in dealing with our own.
All profitable correction comes from a calm and peaceful mind.
from the ever gentle Saint Francis de Sales,
photo LinSu Hill
Our guide for today and this week: doing the ordinary things with attention and with love.
When the mind is at peace,
the world too is at peace.
Nothing real, nothing absent.
Not holding on to reality,
not getting stuck in the void,
you are neither holy nor wise, just
an ordinary fellow who has completed his work.
Layman Pang, 740 – 808, Chinese Chan layman
photo florian plag
Every day has enough trouble of its own
When you go to sleep
bury all that has happened in the mercy of God
It will be safe there
Stand back from what has happened
and be grateful for it all
When the new day begins
be sure that you yourself can be
new and pure as new light
It is like the resurrection
Rule for a New Brother
photo izemah
Mindfulbalance 