Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. ~Arundhati Roy
1. Truth: To realize a dream, an aspiration, a wish, a longing, a calling, what I hunger for and what haunts me, I must be able to name it. Write it down, flesh it out, visualize it, seek it out, look it directly in the eye, know it, claim it. Be able to say what it is, what I want, how I want to feel, plain and clear and true, see it whole.
2. Truth: Once I know what I want, I can want it without apology. As poet Mary Oliver says, “You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” Once I’ve identified what I long for, I can start moving in that direction. I don’t need any special equipment or training. I don’t need anyone’s permission (except my own). I simply take one tiny step, and then another. I can start any time, knowing that it is never too late, all I have to do is get out of my own way.
3. Truth: It is essential to keep my heart open to whatever arises. I can expect that things might not look how I imagined or go the way I planned, that I might get confused or even a little lost, that the dream might shift its shape as I live my way closer to it. I can ask for help, for guidance, for training, for support when I need it. I can drop my agenda, give up control, let go, surrender to the magic.
One wish: That with a compassionate vision, deep knowing, and skillful means, we all find our way to a life we love living.
2. Savor on Just Lara. Some day I will learn how to do this.
3. This quote from Thich Nhat Hahn:
To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. When you are born a lotus flower, be a beautiful lotus flower, don’t try to be a magnolia flower. If you crave acceptance and recognition and try to change yourself to fit what other people want you to be, you will suffer all your life. True happiness and true power lie in understanding yourself, accepting yourself, having confidence in yourself.
9. This quote from Hugh MacLeod, “If you’re unhappy, nine times out of ten it’s because you’re clinging onto something. Nine times out of ten, happiness and letting go are synonymous.”
10. This quote from Ernest Hemingway, “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
19. A Good Life from Judy Clement Wall, and a really good question.
20. This quote:
Meditation is not something that you do. Meditation is a movement into the whole question of our living: how we live, how we behave, whether we have fears, anxieties, sorrows; whether we are everlastingly pursuing pleasure; and whether we have built images about ourselves and about others. ~J. Krishnamurti
Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control. We can love and care for others but we cannot possess our children, lovers, family, or friends. We can assist them, pray for them, and wish them well, yet in the end their happiness and suffering depend on their thoughts and actions, not on our wishes. ~Jack Kornfield
23. Meet this transient world with neither grasping nor fear, trust the unfolding of life, and you will attain true serenity. ~Bhagavad Gita
24. Kindness is the Cure for Depression from Gennifer Carragher on Kind Over Matter. (P.S. I am compelled to add, however, that if your depression doesn’t get better with this method, is more than mild, please ask for help).
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 