Category Archives: Quotes

August Break: Day 24

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the sky this morning

Even after all this time
the sun never says to the earth, “You owe Me.”
Look what happens with a love like that,
It lights up the Whole Sky.
~Hafiz

I continue to practice living with uncertainty, impermanence. This shaky, uncomfortable quality of life is so tender, so terrifying. I admit that I have moments of blind panic, where my sanity starts to slip and my perception blurs, when confusion and anxiety and despair cocoon around me. I forget that I can change my mind, take a walk or have something to eat, that I am loved and connected, not alone.

But this is the essence of practice. Sometimes, you can stay with the moment, be gentle with yourself, sit with your thoughts and emotions as they rage and quake, not running away or grasping or rejecting or numbing out, but rather peacefully abiding until they naturally dissolve. Sometimes, you just can’t. And yet, you continue to try, to practice, to show up with your open heart, broken and whole all at the same time.

You don’t give up, but you practice letting go, surrendering, again and again and again, the same way the sun rises and sets, every day–some days you don’t even see it, don’t look up, don’t notice, aren’t even awake when it happens, and other days it makes you stop, throw back your head and stare, unable to believe that a thing so beautiful could even exist. And through it all, it’s the same sky, the same sun, rising and sinking, simply doing what it does, fundamentally good and completely natural–just like all of us.

There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth,
Beyond us all,
beyond the heavens,
beyond the highest, the very highest heavens.
This is the light that shines in our hearts.
~Chandogya Upanishad

Something Good

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it looks like it’s waving at us, doesn’t it? or offering a hug.

1. An Intentional Life by Leo Babauta on Zen Habits.

Many of us go through our days awake, but following patterns we’ve developed over the years. We are going through the motions, doing things at home, online, at work without much forethought.

Contrast this with the idea of an Intentional Life: everything you do is done with consciousness, fulfilling one of your core values (compassion, for example). Everything is done with a conscious intent.

2. This quote: At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. ~Albert Schweitzer

3. This quote: As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John F. Kennedy

4. Anaïs Nin on Life, Hand-Lettered by Artist Lisa Congdon on Brain Pickings. When I was in my 20s, I read all of Anaïs Nin’s diaries. She was brilliant and strange, and I loved every word. These illustrated quotes are fabulous.

5. 40 Ways to Feel More Alive on Tiny Buddha.

6. Music is My Church by Sarah McLachlan on Huffington Post. Amen.

7. Six Simple Ways to Reduce Your Stress Levels, from Dumb Little Man: Tips for Life. Oh boy, did I ever need this advice this week.

8. You Are Beautiful Project. Sometimes, something simple can be powerful.

9. Community, A Structure of Belonging from Patti Digh on 37 Days. “It is such a sign of hope in a world of pain that we take care of each other, still.” There is still time to give to the John F. Ptak Relief Fund. It always feels good to help someone who needs it, but when they are so grateful and full of love, it feels even better.

10. The next round of Telling True Stories starts on September 10th. I loved Laurie Wagner’s 5-week Writing ECourse, (see my open love letter to her and the class), loved, loved, loved Laurie’s wild, open-hearted, brave teaching, and if you are a writer looking to be inspired, to get wild, I think you will too.

11. Aimee Mann’s New Video. Aimee Mann’s music is brilliant, but a close second to that talent is her sense of humor–both of which are clear in this new video.