Welcome

Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Wednesday, December 31, 2014

There is a path (even when we feel lost)


The Path

Great Doubt
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What’s the point?
Why me?
How do I get out of this?

Great Faith
I’m here for a reason
I can trust that I can learn and grow
I trust that other people are worth the struggle
I know that every situation is workable

Great Determination
I’m willing to keep going
I choose to stay
I surrender to what is
                                Margaret J Wheatley
_____________________________________

Sometimes life just sucks
big time

sometimes the path not only seems obscure
but downright invisible

sometimes we are stuck in doubt
and we cannot find faith
and without faith

cannot find a good reason for the next step
and so
and so

we want to run
we want to quit
we want to deny

and we put so much energy
in the wrong places

and things don’t get better
we just get angry
and we point fingers

and we wander through the corridors of our minds
lost and confused
tripping over old events
old thoughts
old failures
old angers and resentments

stumbling around in the dark

lost

but there is a path
which begins with honest questions
and honest answers
which embraces faith
in above all else
one’s self
but also in the care and concern of others

there is a path
that leads us out of the world of darkness and debris
into a place of growth
and change

and so we keep walking
one step
one faltering step
at a time

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

On slowing down, being present to one's self, and being an authentic giver


People are too busy to care
                Healthcare worker
_______________________________________

There are two kinds of compassion and care.  One is honest kindness, and the other, dishonest kindness.  How many times have we promised, or pretended to be available, to listen, to care, when, in that moment, we honestly had no such capacity?  And do we imagine that dishonest kindness actually brings healing and ease to another – or do we see an unintended suffering.   I do not know the answer to this.  But I cannot help but ask the question.
                                                                                                Wayne Muller
___________________________________________

To love means being there for your beloved, recognizing his presence as important.  To be there, to be fully present, to appreciate the preciousness of your beloved, this is the practice of true love.  To be there for him (her) you have to be there for yourself first.  Do you have the tie to be there for yourself?  Do you have the time for a cup of tea, for an orange, for your in-breath, your out breath?
                                                                                   
                                                                                                Thich Nhat Hanh
___________________________________________________________


the thermometer says it is 7 degrees outside
the snow slowly comes to life as the clouds break and
the sun scatters jewels across the ground
the dark green arms of firs wear proudly heavenly adornment

and I sit
with time
nothing but time

it is an odd sensation
and I hate it

and yet I realize as I sit here
in the quiet
wanting it not to be quiet
wanting to be needed
wanting to teach or counsel
or something

that I am being taught a lesson

a lesson about being present to myself
a lesson about sitting in the quietude
with that cup of tea
just sitting
being present to myself

restoring
rebuilding
refilling my inner resources

for too long I have tried to give
and have had nothing to give
I have been guilty, without even knowing it
of dishonest kindness
because I cannot give what I do not have

bring me to myself O Sacred One
that I might be present to myself
and thus
authentically
present
to you
and for others

Monday, December 29, 2014

Anger is...... stupid?

Anger gives the illusion of clarity
A certain strength arises when we have an opinion and we know where we stand.
The difference between the clarity we believe we have hwen angry
And the clarity that results from actually seeing clearly
Is that aggression has its own narrow logic,
Which does not take into account the deeper level of causes and conditions
That surround each situation
                                                                                Dzigar Kongtrul (Buddhist Teacher)
_______________________________________________


It floats around
freely going where it will
finding any small space
into which it can slip

infecting
like a virulent virus
sickening
robbing us of power

anger
makes us sick
it eats away at the fabric of our being
until our minds
consumed
are good for nothing
but throwing
out hatred
and rage
and moral blindness

__________________________________


There is no such thing as righteous anger
Anger in any form only makes us blind.
                                                Margaret Wheatley