This post is a mashup of The Little Bliss List and Joy Jam, and as such is meant to celebrate: the little things that brought me hope and happiness this week, the sweet stuff of life, those small gifts that brought me joy this week. By sharing them, I not only make public my gratitude, but maybe also help you notice your own good stuff and send some positive energy out into the world.
1. Amazing women. Judy for her big love, Julia for her broken heart, Jessica for her brilliant wisdom, Sherry for her kindness, Chloe’ for her generosity, Amy for her tireless charity, Tina for her grief, Andrea for her vibrant vision, Susannah for her trailblazing, Erica for her quiet, Rachel for her well-fed wisdom, Hannah for her gentle effort, Susan for her tenderhearted warriorship, Patti for her strong offerings, Stephanie for her noticing…I could go on and on.
2. My aunt’s fabric art. I received two more of her pieces recently, one from her and one from my mom. I absolutely cherish each one, feel as if I am the caretaker of a precious collection, am inspired by them to do my own creative work and feel love radiating from each one, every design, every color, every stitch.
3. Some time alone. Eric took the dogs to Lory State Park this morning, giving me about three hours of unscheduled, unplanned, and oh so spacious time alone. I need this, even more often than I’m able to get it. As a highly sensitive person, an introvert, the constant noise and presence of other beings is sometimes hard for me, to always have a radio on in the background, to sometimes have multiple noises happening at once especially if I am attempting to focus on something else, to have the constant need of another to consider, can be distracting, overwhelming, and irritating…and yet, when I’m alone, the quiet can sometimes be too much.
4. Fall Break. I only had to work one day after all, and even though I’d like a whole year off (forever?) from my current paid work, this time was such a good thing–sleeping in some days, not doing too much, extra time with Dexter, a focus and mindfulness that’s difficult when I am otherwise so busy.
5. Apple pie oatmeal. The recipe is simple, make a normal serving of oatmeal and add a few spoonfuls of apple pie. Yum!
5. Two from Justine Musk, You Were Born to Be a Badass in which she says “But the first step, as Greene points out, is inward: a turning away from the voices that urge conformity, toward the truth of who you are at core,” and How to Start Creating Your Blog Community, which really has me thinking about what great work we could do together, kind and gentle reader.
12. The Soul-Shaking Practice of Surrender by Courtney Carver on Be More With Less. Anybody remember a something good list that didn’t have something from Courtney on it?! Yeah, me neither.
16. Wicked Awesome Quotes, a new site from Cigdem Kobu. I pretty much love everything she does, because she’s completely amazing.
17. And yet, the morning comes, the most amazing post from Lisa Bonchek Adams, who recently discovered her breast cancer was back, had metastasized. She ends this post with “I’m still processing. Reeling. But while I’m doing that I’m living.” She is so amazing.
18. This quote from Tulku Thondup:
For healing, it is important to have inspiration. A hopeful and inspired feeling generates enthusiasm, trust, and openness and makes it easier for us to meditate. However, we should not obsess about the meditation experience or have rigid expectations about what should happen. Grasping after results will only become a tourniquet that tightens our mental and physical energies.
19. This quote from Tara Brach, her new book True Refuge:
In the Buddhist teachings, the conscious recognition of our heart’s deepest longing is called wise aspiration. Yours might be for spiritual realization, for loving more fully, for knowing truth, for finding peace. Whatever its flavor, the awareness of what you care about energizes and guides your practice.
20. SoulPancake: Find Peace in the Zen Den. I love the looks on these people’s faces as they step inside, and the woman who says “I’m not finished yet. I can keep going.”
Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: “A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others.”
But there is another basic requirement, and I can’t understand now how I forgot it at the time: that is the feeling that you are, in some way, useful. Usefulness, whatever form it may take, is the price we should pay for the air we breathe and the food we eat and the privilege of being alive. And it is its own reward, as well, for it is the beginning of happiness, just as self-pity and withdrawal from the battle are the beginning of misery.
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
24. Don’t Wait from Julia on Painted Path. If you have it to spare, send sweet Julia some love and comfort.
Those of us who have the awareness, the sensitivity, the great privilege–all the things necessary to awaken and end suffering in this lifetime–need to take that opportunity very, very seriously. As the Buddha pointed out, we never know when such an opportunity will arise again.
This post is a mashup of The Little Bliss List and Joy Jam, and as such is meant to celebrate: the little things that brought me hope and happiness this week, the sweet stuff of life, those small gifts that brought me joy this week. By sharing them, I not only make public my gratitude, but maybe also help you notice your own good stuff and send some positive energy out into the world.
3. Some time alone. Eric took the dogs to Lory State Park this morning, giving me about three hours of unscheduled, unplanned, and oh so spacious time alone. I need this, even more often than I’m able to get it. As a highly sensitive person, an introvert, the constant noise and presence of other beings is sometimes hard for me, to always have a radio on in the background, to sometimes have multiple noises happening at once especially if I am attempting to focus on something else, to have the constant need of another to consider, can be distracting, overwhelming, and irritating…and yet, when I’m alone, the quiet can sometimes be too much.
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 