INSTANT KARMA: WE ALL SHINE ON: LIKE THE MOON AND THE STAR AND THE SUN
KARMA : Karma is a Sanskrit word that literally means ‘action’ or ‘doing’. In Hinduism it is believed that everyone is trapped in samsara (an endless cycle of birth-death- rebirth for eternity). The concept of karma in Hinduism describes a system in which beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions, and harmful actions create misery in your next lives. However, what was considered as a beneficial action was in the hands of the highest members of the caste system, the Brahmins.
The Brahmin priests would perform a ritual on your behalf and that would bring you better karma in your next life. The problem was that if you were of the lower castes, even merchants, common laborers and especially the untouchables, that option was not available to you. You were trapped.
Along with The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path, the Buddha repudiated the ancient concept of karma. The Buddha said that the ‘intent’ of the action is more important than the action itself and anyone, no matter what caste, had the power to change their own destiny by doing good deeds with the intention of caring. So each individual could change their destiny, not only in this life, but in future incarnations.
It was a complete democratization of karma. In essence, the Buddha revolutionized ethics. With karma available to everyone, action and intention had real consequences. Essentially, it means that we are in charge of our own moral condition.
The buck stops with you: your destiny and moral condition were no longer controlled by the whim of the gods or the rituals of the Brahmins.
We were born to realize our own potential. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our Presence may liberate others..
INSTANT KARMA: ‘AND WE ALL SHINE ON. LIKE THE MOON AND THE SUN AND THE STARS’ John Lennon
Like an innocent child we can rejoice in life itself; in the very fact that we are alive.. In place of original sin, celebrate your original goodness, we are the beauty we have been seeking all our lives. The world we live in is a temple, and the miraculous light of the first stars is shining through it all the time.
YOUR MIND IS THE GARDEN : Before we can sow seeds of compassion, we must take care to choose fertile ground on which to sow. That means that we must act with an open heart and the right intention. Our mind is like a field, and performing actions is like sowing seeds in that field. Virtuous actions sow seeds of future happiness and non-virtuous actions sow seeds of future suffering. These seeds remain dormant in our mind until the conditions for them to ripen occur, and then they produce their harvest.
We all have a lot of garbage in our lives. We can use that garbage as compost. We all suffer, but we must not allow our suffering to prevent us from seeing all the miracles of life. If one tree in our garden is sick, we must tend to it carefully, but don’t ignore the rest of your garden.
A well-tended garden will bear life-sustaining fruits and vegetables along with beautiful blossoms that soothe the soul. Although flowers are impermanent, like us, it makes them all the more precious. Buddhism teaches us to turn suffering into compassion. The lotus comes out of the mud. It has been my experience that people who have suffered a lot have more empathy than most.
Gratitude is an appreciation of all that sustains us; an acknowledgement of blessings great and small. It is confidence in life itself and confidence in ourselves and our ability to manage our own lives. The same force that causes all things to grow on this planet are within us. We exist because every single one of our ancestors from the beginning of the first man was a survivor and cared and nurtured their young and passed down to us valuable knowledge that would sustain us in life.
‘Gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within us and without us.’ David Whyte
Kind hearts are the garden
Kind thoughts are the roots
Kind words are the blossoms
Kind deeds are the fruits John Ruskin
One of the oldest ancient religious texts, the Bhagavad Gita says that the secret to life is ‘to act well without attachment to the fruits of your labor.’
Moreover, we must act with good intentions. It is our intention that matters. If you are helping others and giving of your time, do not do so to gain ‘brownie points’ or recognition and praise for your efforts. That is not Karma. Real Karma comes from a place of compassion for the suffering in the world.
When we commit to something, we will experience some measure of failure as well as success. If we focus only on the results we will become discouraged and devastated. We can give our best, create what we can, and trust in the larger process of life itself. We can plan, care for, and tend to but we can’t control. We must let go of the outcome.
TRUTH: THE ABILITY TO DISTINGUISH TRUTH FROM OPINIONS
Because we believe in the possibility of freedom from our afflictions, we continue to search for a deeper truth. The path to ultimate reality takes hard work and practice. If we value truth and reality, we chip away at falsehoods, both large and subtle in our lives. This also applies to living a virtuous life; do not distinguish between small and large. We all know, in our hearts, what is right and what is wrong.
Illusion and delusion are part of the human condition. In a world that is increasingly filled with deceit, manipulation, and exploitation, it is easy to become cynical about truth. We fail to acknowledge the truth of what’s happening in our own lives as it’s taking place. Often, we see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear and ignore the messages we find distasteful.
We ignore reality every time we spend money we don’t have. We ignore reality every time we close our eyes to our own unhappiness or those around us, and we ignore reality every time we construct fantasies that help us to avoid what we don’t want to see. You may think that everybody sees reality, but check it out. We can all walk down the street or witness an event and yet we’ll see and hear different things.
UNDERSTANDING OF KARMA: CAUSE AND EFFECT:
Your karma is the result of everything you do, think, say and feel. For every cause (or action) there is an effect. Buddhism teaches that our karma was created by past behavior. It also teaches that no matter when karma was created, it can be changed, worked with, purified, and transformed. That means our destiny is in our own hands.
The Buddha taught that all psychological and physical phenomena are interdependent. Everything we do, say, or even think has an effect on the next action, word or thought. Impulses occur based on past behavior. Your impulse leads to a thought; the thought becomes a movement (words and deeds). This establishes a pattern. Through repetition, a pattern becomes a habit. Habitual patterns help form our character, which, in turn, determines our destiny. This is karmic evolution.
The Buddha said, ‘If you want to know what your future looks like, look at your life right now.
KARMIC EVOLUTION:
Plant a thought; harvest an act.
Plant an act; harvest a habit.
Plant a habit; harvest a character.
Plant a character; harvest a destiny.
Coming of age Ritual of the Shoshone First Nations
This is how we constantly shape and reshape our lives for better or worse. Buddhist teachings about karma tell us every time we do something, we are psychologically. morally, and physically imprinted and conditioned in a manner that makes it more than likely that we’ll behave the same way next time.
When we want to change the way we are with ourselves or the rest of the world, we need to do a little karmic intervention in order to change old habits and behavior patterns. When we change our values, attitudes, intentions, and aspirations we are able to change our behavior and our karma. One of the most important teachings about karma is this: It is not what happens to us that matters most; it’s what we do with it.
Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive, because your words become your behavior.
‘Keep your behavior positive, because your behavior becomes your habits.
‘Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values.
‘Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny.’ Mahatma Gandhi
We always have choices. We all have to fight the impulses to become rigid caricatures of the person we have always been. It’s spiritually intelligent to stay open to new possibilities and new ways of being. Simply because we- or our parents or grandparents- have always acted and thought in a certain way doesn’t mean it has to continue. We are not victims of the past; we all have choices. If a behavior or way of thinking is not working, it can be changed.
‘Emotions and ritualized behavior are built deeply into us. They are part of our humanity. But they are not characteristically human. Many other animals have feelings. What distinguishes our species is thought.
‘The cerebral cortex is a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behaviour of lizards and baboons. We are, each of us, largely responsible for what we, as adults, wind up caring for and knowing about. We can change ourselves.’ Carl Sagan
KARMA: DO YOUR BEST BUT LET GO OF THE OUTCOME
Life’s a mystery. Anything is possible, especially if you expend time and effort towards particular goals. But, contrary to what the positive thinking spin-doctors postulate, it does not necessarily mean that what you desire will come to pass. It’s not impossible. But we need to let go of the outcomes of our efforts.
Do your very best, giving what you are doing your full and undivided attention. If you are convinced that you have done your best, let go of the outcome. Full and undivided attention means being totally present.
When our efforts seem futile, we can trust that in another time and place there may be unexpected results. When we’re trying to address a problem, help a friend, improve the world, it might appear to be going nowhere.
Yet, our actions are like planting seeds in the ground. We are not exactly sure if they will bear fruit and what looks like failure may only be a period of gestation. Our work towards the good may be sustained if we don’t measure the success or failure of our actions by the immediate and superficial results. In Buddhism this is karma or as I like to call it, Sowing the Seeds of Love!
SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE:
Whether the goodness or cruelty in us is revealed depends on what seeds we cultivate, our actions, and our way of life. Buddhist mindfulness practices and its emphasis on Compassion, Integrity, and Wisdom can help us cultivate seeds that not only alleviates our own suffering, caused by delusion and ignorance, but also the suffering of others.
TENDING OUR GARDEN :CULTIVATION OF CARE
God does not desire the soul to undertake any labor, but to take delight in the first fragrance of the flowers.The soul can obtain sufficient nourishment from its own garden. St. Teresa of Avila
Gardeners always recognize each other, because they know that in the history of each plant lies the growth of the whole World.
“Anything that grows is always more beautiful to look at than anything which is built. Plant a green tree in your heart and maybe the singing bird will come.’ Lin Yu Tang
In life, a person can take one of two attitudes: to build or to plant. The builders might take years over their tasks, but one day, they finish what they're doing. Then they find that they're hemmed in by their own walls. Life loses its meaning when the building stops.
Then there are those who plant. They endure storms and all the vicissitudes of the seasons, and they rarely rest. But unlike a building, a garden never stops growing. And while it requires the gardener's constant attention, it also allows life for the gardener to be a great adventure.
When you go to a garden,
Do you look at thorns or flowers?
Spend more time with roses and jasmine. Rumi
And such is my wish for the rest of my life: to never stop growing as a person. To be human is extremely difficult. To be a decent human being, to ‘suffer over the suffering of others’, is exceedingly difficult. I have loved gardening all my life. When my son was just a baby, my wife and I bought a house along the coast of Nova Scotia’s South Shore and our property was literally a rockpile!
‘Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust
In three years I had by hook and crook succeeded in making it into a garden paradise bordered by all the rocks I had dug out of the ground! Whenever I gardened, I was completely immersed in the present moment. Gardening is freedom. It is therefore necessary for me, to be a gardener for my subscribers, for I have no land to plant on.
‘Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand.’ Mother Teresa
COMPASSION, INTEGRITY AND WISDOM: THE THREE PILLARS OF BUDDHISM.
If we look at the world through the lens of the mind, we readily notice what we are looking for, because the mind will focus on it. Given that the world we look through is limited, if we can train our mind and choose wisely where to focus, then we will be able to experience the world according to our state of mind.
When your mind rests, the world also rests. The Buddha and his followers explored the nature of mind and the nature of life. Their efforts led to remarkable discoveries.
The Buddhists successfully mapped out a guide or map which is quintessentially human; aspects of the mind that we all have in common as humans, regardless of our beliefs or cultural backgrounds. These discoveries can be explored by anyone; anytime, anywhere and we can learn for ourselves what is to be found. Therefore, we all have the ability to become our own teachers- which is exactly what the Buddha suggested and taught from the beginning.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
As when everything seems dead
And later proves to be alive. Pablo Neruda
‘It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks; to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal. When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.’ Helen Keller
Do not brace yourself against suffering
Try to close your eyes and surrender yourself
As if to a great loving energy.
Try to sleep with that active sleep
Of confidence which is that of the seeds
In fields in winter. Teilhard de Chardin
‘Move forward as occasion offers. Never look around to see whether any shall note it. Be satisfied with success even in the smallest matter, and think that such a result is no trifle.’ Marcus Aurelius
LEVITY: Don’t take yourself too seriously. You will soon break the bow if you keep it always stretched. Drop the idea that you are Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders. The world would go on even without you. When the path is clear, why do you hurl stones before you?
The world we live in is a temple, and the miraculous light of the first stars is shining through.to suffer and be strong. Like an innocent child we can rejoice in life itself; in the very fact that we are alive.. In place of original sin, celebrate your original goodness, we are the beauty we have been seeking all our lives.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson relates that when a supernova dies, all the elements of the periodic table are sent out throughout our galaxy and eventually land on our planet. All these elements end up, with the help of the sun, creating life and creating us. So we are not just metaphorically, but literally made of stardust.
We are stardust.
Billion year old carbon-
We are golden
Caught in the devil’s bargain
And we’ve got to get ourselves
Back to the Garden……… Joni Mitchell
We have got to find our way back to the Garden. We have lost our way. We have to find a way to foster awareness of the imminent and wanton destruction of our home, Mother Earth. We have what we seek. It is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us. Your heart will lead the way to fulfillment. Transformation is a journey without a final destination.
Life is a miracle. We, ourselves are a miracle. Miraculous here does not refer to extraordinary phenomena but to the commonplace, for absolutely anything can evoke this special awareness provided that close attention is paid to it. Once perception is disengaged from the domination of preconception and personal interests, it is free to experience the world as it is and to behold its inherent magnificence.
The world we live in is a temple, and the miraculous light of the first stars is shining through it all the time
O shooting star
That fell into my eyes and
Through my body-
Not to forget you.
To endure. Rilke
‘Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.’ The Buddha
‘Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature- the assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter.’ Rachel Carson
No peace lies in the future
Which is not hidden in the present moment.
The gloom of the world is but
A shadow. Behind it, yet within
Reach is Joy. There is radiance and
Glory in the darkness, could we but see,
And to see, we have only to look.
I beseech you to look. Fra GiovannI
‘The dream of my life is to lie down by a slow river and stare at the light in the trees- to learn something by being nothing.’ Mary Oliver
Life is like water flowing from one place to the next: seed and fruit, rain and drought; everything travels in a gigantic circle, an eternal process of becoming something new. But we rarely see it. Humans tend to see only frozen moments, not the flow of things
‘No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. One can never consent to crawl when one feels an impulse to soar.’ Helen Keller
We are the mirror as well as the face of it.
We are the taste, tasting this minute of eternity.
We are the pain and what cures the pain, both.
We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours. Rumi
‘The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of true art and science. I live in that solitude that is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity. Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living things and the whole of nature and its beauty.’ Albert Einstein
‘Poetry soothes the soul and emboldens the heart to accept Mystery’ John Keats
Life’s a mystery. Anything is possible, especially if you expend time and effort towards particular goals. Embracing or accepting the unknown, the fact of impermanence, the mystery underlying all things, frees us from suffering caused by fixed opinions and views. There is so much in this world that we don’t know, that we cannot understand. But be Alive to the Mystery
KINDNESS
Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
You must travel where the Indian in the white pancho
Lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you.
How he, too, was someone
Who journeyed through the night with plans
And the simple breath that kept him alive.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside
You must know sorrow as the other deepest thing
Then, it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
Only kindness that ties your shoes
And sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread.
Only kindness that raises its head
From the ‘CROWD’ of the world to say,
“It is I that you have been looking for”,
And then goes with you everywhere
Like a shadow or a friend. Naomi Shihab Nye
The true teacher is someone who helps you to discover the teacher in yourself. According to the Buddha the birth of a human being is not a beginning but a continuation, and when we’re born, all the different kinds of seeds- seeds of goodness, of cruelty, of awakening- are already in us.
We do not have to believe in reincarnation or previous lives in order to understand this. Even if we only believe in science, and genetics we can see that we have inherited a lot of seeds.
GIVE AWAY INFORMATION: So much of what we have in life comes with great difficulty. And, often we see others struggle as much as we did. Turn this around, and begin giving others as much help as you can give. The giving has to be done with no expectations of return.
More likely than not, however, the return will not only benefit the person you are helping, but you will find greater meaning in your own life. For some reason, when you become a support to others you become bigger than you are. Moreover, when people use what they have learned from you, your effect in this world is greatly magnified.
GIVE AWAY PRAISE: Often the people we find most difficult to praise are the ones closest to us-our mates, our children, our parents, our co-workers. A lot of the difficulty comes from anger and resentment. Yet, surprisingly, when we praise the people in our lives, we release this negativity and open the door for their being loving toward us.
In relationships, too many of us focus on the negative, and have no difficulty reminding significant others of their shortcomings. No wonder so many relationships don’t last. It is natural that we want our loved ones to be affirming and supportive. It is important to surround ourselves with giving, loving, and nurturing people.
GIVE AWAY TIME: In the modern era, time, literally, is the most precious commodity. There never seems to be enough of it. As a person ages, you begin to realize how much time you have wasted. However, it does wake a person up; that living in the present moment gives you more time. If you have ever been alone in nature, and you are in a sense of wonder from the beauty and harmony of the natural world, it seems that time stands still. This is because you have slipped from ‘doing’ and thinking mode to ‘being’ mode. To live in the present moment, means to touch eternity.
GIVE AWAY LOVE: When we let someone be who they are without trying to change them; that is giving away love. When we trust that someone else can handle his or her life, and act accordingly, that is giving away love. When we let go and allow others to learn and grow without feeling that our existence is threatened; that is giving away love.
What we often define and perceive to be love really isn’t- it is being needy. Love is generally confused with dependence; but in point of fact, you can love only in proportion to your capacity for independence. The ability to give also depends on whether you think you count or not, so in that respect self-esteem is an essential element in the process. We must love and care for ourselves first and foremost.
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Love is a beautiful flowering that I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same. Everything has its wonders, even in darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. One can never consent to crawl when one feels an impulse to soar’ Helen Keller I cannot get through an article without quoting Helen!
‘Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our spirit feeds upon it. We must have it, because without it we become faint and weak. Without love our self-esteem weakens. Without it our courage fails. Without love we can no longer look out confidently at the world. Instead we turn inwardly and begin to feed upon our own personalities and little by little we destroy ourselves. You and I need the strength that comes from knowing that we are loved. With it we are creative. With it we march tirelessly. With it, and with it alone, we are able to sacrifice ourselves for others.’ Chief Dan George Salish Nations B.C. Canada
You that loves lovers, this is your home, welcome! In the midst of making form, Love made this form that melts form with Love for the door- Soul the vestibule. Watch the dust grains moving
In the light near the window. Their dance is our dance. We rarely hear the inner music, but we’re dancing to it nevertheless, all of us- directed by the one who teaches us, the pure joy of the sun, our Music Master.
The flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing, and its sound is love. When love renounces all limits, it reaches truth. How widely the fragrance spreads! It has no end; nothing stands in its way! The form of this melody is bright like a million suns!
‘To love is to discover and complete one’s self, an act impossible of general realization on Earth so long as each can see in the neighbor no more than a closed fragment following its own course through the world. It is precisely this state of isolation that will end if we begin to discover each other not merely the elements of one and the same thing, but of a single Spirit in search of itself. The existence of such a power becomes possible in the curvature of a world which is capable of creating something new.; Teilhard De Chardin
Love alone can unite human beings so as to complete them and fulfill them; for it alone joins them by what is deepest In themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to love, developing it until it embraces the totality of the people of the earth. Theoretically, this transformation of love is quite possible. What paralyses life is a failure to believe and a failure to dare. The day will come, when after harnessing space, the winds, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of Love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world we shall have discovered fire!
As an ability, love is always there ready to flourish. It can be cultivated- we practice it- it becomes who we are. With life’s ups and downs, the ability to love will always be within us. This is the kind of wisdom born of going through life paying attention, rather than being half-asleep.
GIVE AWAY SMILES. It takes very little for us to smile. Sometimes I will be out in the world, doing errands and on the verge of a force nine panic attack and I’ll be smiling! So I smile everywhere I go and I smile when I meditate. I smile if I am in pain, if I am suffering and eventually the smile brings me back to the present moment. Basically we suffer the most in the past and in the future.
STANDING HERE ALONE WITH MY HEART WIDE OPEN
Being held in Mother Earth’s tender embrace helps us to slow down long enough to look at our own lives, and the lives of others. And what you end up with is unconditional love for all beings. I think the reason this is so is because beauty makes you ache to be worthy of it.
The central metaphors of the spiritual-mystical tradition reflect this pivotal experience, in which the ego is taken up within and encompassed by something larger than itself. In Buddhism, the illusion of self dissolves, and the void is filled with the ecstatic knowledge that there is no difference between my mind and Buddha-mind.
We don’t turn into a Buddha by striving for it. Rather, we awaken to the truth that we have been buddha all along.
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again. Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.
Life itself can’t give you joy unless you really want it!. Life just gives us time and space. High self-esteem and personal effectiveness are available to anyone willing to take the time to pursue it. Our perceptions are so crucial. Do we count our blessings or our shortcomings, our failures?
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the heartbeat of the world; to match your nature with Nature. The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again.
BE A VESSEL FOR VIRTUE: WATERING YOUR SEEDS : Buddhist thought and practice are skillful means for cultivating three basic elements of our own character: 1) Wisdom, 2) Compassion, and 3) Integrity. These are known as The Three Pillars of Buddhism. Buddhists have reverence for all life and this is called ‘virtue’.
Our life on this planet is short and goes by in the blink of an eye, but the smallest act of kindness can change the world and if we cultivate integrity and kindness, we pass that on to others, to the next generation.
We can literally become a vessel for virtue. Like a pitcher of fresh water we can pass it on to others so they can drink from the well of kindness and water their garden. So we must nurture our children, the next generation who will inherit the earth. What kind of world will they inherit? We have to find a way to make the world and our home Mother Earth flourish.
INSTANT KARMA’S GOING TO GET YOU. GOING TO KNOCK YOU ON YOUR FACE WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? LAUGHING AT FOOLS LIKE ME? A SUPERSTAR, WELL HOW RIGHT YOU ARE! AND WE ALL SHINE ON. LIKE THE MOON AND THE STARS AND THE SUN. YES WE ALL SHINE ON
THE POET: MARY OLIVER ALWAYS A SOUL IN WONDER
Let me keep my distance always from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company with those who say, ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment and bow their heads
Have you ever seen anything In your life more wonderful than the way the sun every evening relaxed and easy, floats towards the horizon and into the clouds or the hills or the rumpled sea, and is gone- and ‘how it slides again out of blackness every morning on the other side of the world, like a red flower.’ M. Oliver
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds, a white cross streaming across the sky, its feet like black leaves, its wings like the stretching light of the river? And did you feel it, in your heart? How it pertained to everything? And have you, too, finally figured out what beauty is for? And have you changed your life?
Streaming upward on its heavenly oils, say, in a morning in early summer at its perfect imperial distance- and have you ever felt for anything such wild love- do you think there is anything, in any language, a world billowy enough for the pleasure that fills you as the sun reaches out as it warms you as you stand there empty-handed- or have you, too, turned from the world or have you too, gone crazy for power, for things?
And that is just the point-how the world, moist and beautiful, calls each of us to make a new and serious response. That's the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning: ‘Here you are alive! Would you like to make a comment? Mary Mary Quite Contrary Where does your garden grow?
Hello sun in my face. Hello, you who made the morning and spread it over the fields. Watch now how I start my day in happiness, in kindness. What I want in my life is to be dazzled- to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world. I want to believe I am looking into the white fire of a great mystery; to believe that the imperfections are nothing- that the light is everything, that it is more than the sum of each flawed blossom rising and fading. And I do!
And if your spirit carries within it the thorn that is heavier than lead- if it’s all you can do to keep on trudging-there is still somewhere deep within you a beast shouting that the earth is exactly what it wanted-each pond with its blazing lilies is a prayer heard and answered lavishly, each morning. Whether or not, you have ever dared to be happy, whether or not, you have ever decided to pray. Inside everyone is a great shout of joy waiting to be born.
To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal- To hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and when it’s time to let it go, let it go. Mary Mary Quite Contrary Where does your garden grow!
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination- calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting, over and over announcing your place in the family of things.’ Mary Oliver
I don’t ask for the sights in front of me to change, only the depth of my seeing. It doesn’t have to be the blue iris: it could be weeds in a vacant lot. Or a few small stones. Just pay attention, then patch a few words together, and don’t try to make them elaborate. This isn’t a contest, but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. Mary Mary
‘The true journey of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having fresh eyes.’ Marcel Proust
‘Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable: then ten times a day something happens to me like this- Some strengthening throb of amazement- some good, sweet empathetic ping and swell. This is the first, wildest and wisest thing that I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely of attentiveness.’ Mary Oliver
‘Each note is a need coming through one of us; a passion, a longing pain. Remember the lips where the wind-breath originated and let your note be clear. Don’t try to end it. Be your note. I’ll show you how it’s enough. Go up on the roof at night in this city of the soul. Let everyone climb on their roofs and sing their notes. Sing loud!’ Rumi
The spirit likes to dress up like this: ten fingers, ten toes, shoulders, and all the rest- at night, in the black branches, in the morning, the blue branches of the world. It could float, of course but would rather plumb rough matter.
Airy, shapeless thing; it needs the metaphor of the body- Time, and appetite, the oceanic fluids; it needs the body’s world instinct and imagination, and the dark hug of time, sweetness and tangibility, to be understood, to be more than pure light that burns where no one is- so it enters us in the morning-shines from brute comfort, like a stitch of lightning; and at night, lights up the deep and wondrous drowning of the body-like a star. Mary Oliver
FOR MY MOTHER:
I am free because I am not the body
I am free because I am not of the body
I am free because I am the Soul Bird that Flies in Infinity’s Skies
I am free because I am the Soul Child that Dreams
On the Lap of the Immortal King Supreme. Carlos Santana
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When you turn around, starting here, lift this
New glimpse that you found; carry into evening
All that you want from this day. This interval
You spent reading or hearing this; keep it for life.
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What can anyone give you greater than now.
Starting here, right in this room-
When you turn around. William Stafford