TRUTH

Jul 11, 2025

DEDICATION TO TRUTH: What is truth? Well, the truth is reality. Scientific facts based on empirical observation are a good indicator of what is true about our physical universe- but even empirical data such as scientific climate change data has become ‘subjective’! So, ‘subjective truth’ has become a loaded topic, especially in our current internet era of ‘alternate facts’. A new attitude towards facts and scientific data has emerged.

The attitude has become: ‘This is true, because it is what I want to believe.’ However, the more clearly we see the reality of the world, the better equipped we are to deal with the world. The less clearly we see the reality of the world, with our illusions, preconceptions, and misperceptions, the less able we are to take correct courses of action.

This is obvious- but people ignore this fact because our route to reality isn’t easy. We are not born with maps. We have to make them, constantly re-adjusting them to ever-changing circumstances. All this requires effort and discipline.

‘Without facts you cannot have truth. If you can’t have truth, you can’t have trust. Without those three, facts, truth and trust you can’t have democracy. What are you willing to sacrifice for the truth?’ Maria Ressa from ‘How To Stand Up to a Dictator’

THIS LIFE IS A TEST

IT IS ONLY A TEST!

HAD IT BEEN AN ACTUAL LIFE

YOU WOULD HAVE RECEIVED

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ON

WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO!

The more effort we make to appreciate and perceive reality, the larger and more accurate our maps will be. But, many don’t want to make this effort. Some stop making adjustments to their maps of reality by adolescence; ending up with a small, limited, narrow, and misleading world view. This is the birthplace of racism, religious intolerance, fear of others, and misogyny- not to mention poverty, mental illness, and addiction.

By middle age, most people give up the effort. They feel certain that their maps of reality are complete and their beliefs and worldviews are not only accurate, but sacrosanct.

They are no longer interested in new information. I see this manifested especially in my father’s generation; seniors who dismiss climate change as ‘tree-hugging’ nonsense. Only a few continue to the moment of death exploring the mystery of reality, ever-enlarging, refining and re-defining their understanding of the world and what’s true.

In order to continue to monitor and adjust our maps of reality we must educate ourselves. We must be curious about the world and the world of ideas and continue to expand our knowledge of ourselves and the world around us.

More often than not, people grow old, but they don’t grow in wisdom because they are unwilling to incorporate new information, they are unwilling to reevaluate and adjust their values and belief systems. Most of us have already formed our maps of reality, and embrace certainty and resist change.

Moreover, even though our belief systems may cause us to suffer, more often than not, we prefer suffering that is familiar rather than unknown suffering or pain- the kind of pain that we must endure in order to grow and fulfil our untapped potential.

“Live like you are going to die tomorrow; learn like you’re going to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi

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.

‘We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.’ Marshall McLuhan, Media Theorist

So, how do we ‘get a grip’ on reality? How do we create a fairly accurate and healthy map of reality to help us navigate our world to create successful, fully lived lives? How do we live in a way that will allow the flowering of our own humanity and bring out the ‘better angels’ in ourselves and others?

Furthermore, how do we manage to continuously adjust our maps of reality to correspond to ever-changing times and technologies?

INSIGHT MEDITATION : STORIES

One purpose of mindfulness practice is to observe the ‘stories’ that we are telling ourselves in order to make sense of our world, our pain and suffering. With this type of examination, we begin to see more clearly- to see the narratives we are weaving about ourselves are just that- only stories. This is one of the most important insights we can gain from our meditation practices.

So how do we discern truth? How do we determine what is true in our lives and remain dedicated to those truths?

Choose your values carefully. What really matters to you? What is worth suffering for? Constantly reassess those values. Ask, ‘Are they working for you?’, and ‘Are they important?’

When embarking on any enterprise that is going to require a lot of effort, examine your motivation. What is the motivating factor behind your effort? Do your motivations align with the values that you have designated as essential to a life of fulfillment and meaning?

Educate yourself and avoid the filter bubble. This enables you to have a wider perspective on many issues that will face you in your day to day life. Stop drinking from the fountain of confirmation on a daily basis, hour after hour. There is life without smartphones (soul cages)!

Practice mindfulness on a daily basis. When you examine a difficult emotion, look carefully at the thought that is associated with that emotion. Is it accurate? This is basically how cognitive behavioural therapy works. In fact, there already exists Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT): DEALING WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

ONE: If you want to change your life, if you wish to effectively deal with anxiety, stress and depression, then you need to change your thoughts first; the way you view yourself, your own negative thought patterns and emotions, and the way in which you view the world. Then you must work to change your behaviour. If you want to change your life:

TWO: You may have to give up the hidden benefits of the anxiety and depression that plagues you. This will involve a loss. This will entail embracing suffering that is not familiar. We often remain stuck in our lives, in shitty circumstances, because if we change we will encounter new challenges and obstacles. We are more comfortable with suffering that we are familiar with. New challenges are something which we fear, but are absolutely essential for personal growth.

THREE: You’ll have to confront the monster you fear the most. This takes courage and determination. You’ll have to do the work. It entails active participation and effort. It means taking risks and making yourself vulnerable.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is based on the idea that depression, anxiety, and anger result from distorted negative thoughts in the here and now. This theory explains why we feel the way we do but doesn’t really address the following questions:

Why are some of us vulnerable to painful mood swings? Why are different people vulnerable to different kinds of problems? What explains the timing of episodes of depression, anxiety, or anger and what triggers these episodes in the first place?

Your attitudes and personal values explain your psychological vulnerabilities. Once you identify your Self-defeating Beliefs, you’ll know exactly why you get upset and when you’re likely to in the future! It’s important to note that Self-Defeating Beliefs are only attitudes and values and are often erroneous or ‘mistaken views’- obviously, they can be re-evaluated and changed.

There are two basic types of Self- Defeating Beliefs:

INDIVIDUAL SELF-DEFEATING BELIEFS

INTERPERSONAL SELF- DEFEATING BELIEFS

INDIVIDUAL SELF- DEFEATING BELIEFS Here are a few of the more insidious Individual SDBs-

PERFECTIONISM: You think you got to be perfect. What is the difference between healthy-striving and perfectionism? Understanding the difference between healthy-striving and perfectionism is essential to living a life of connection and authenticity and moving forward in our lives.

Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis. Healthy-striving is self-focused: ‘How can I improve?’ Perfectionism is other-focused: ‘What will they think of me?’

‘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

‘Success is earned externally by being better than other people. But character, that sort of authentic goodness, is earned by being better than you used to be. And it’s about self-confrontation and humility.’ David Brooks

PERCEIVED PERFECTIONISM: You think you have to impress everyone with your talent, accomplishments, etc. in order to be liked and accepted. People won’t like or accept you if you’re flawed or vulnerable.

Beyond your body and labels there is a river of vulnerability and tenderness. Beyond stereotypes and assumptions, there is a valley of openness and authenticity. Beyond memory and ego, there is an ocean of awareness and compassion.

Love yourself despite your imperfections. Do you not feel compassion toward yourself as you struggle through life? You are so eager to help your friends, but you treat yourself so poorly. Stroke your heart once in a while and tell yourself, ‘I love you.’

How strange that we should feel compelled to hide our wounds when we are all wounded. Community requires the ability to expose these wounds and weaknesses to our fellow creatures. It also requires the ability to be moved by the wounds of others… But even more important is the love that arises among us when we share, both ways, our woundedness.

ACHIEVEMENT ADDICTION : You base your self-esteem on intelligence, talent, looks, accomplishments, or your bank balance.

We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, people are valued not for what they are, but for what they do or what they have- for their usefulness.

‘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. I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.’ Helen Keller

APPROVAL ADDICTION: Everyone has to like you in order for you to be happy.

‘You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anyone deserves your love and affection.’ The Buddha

When another person sees you and considers you as worthy of attention, we begin to appreciate each other more and more. The energy required to set aside our own views and our own ‘certainty’ and the focusing of total attention is so great that it can be accomplished only by love, by the will to extend oneself for mutual growth.

INTERPERSONAL SELF-DEFEATING BELIEFS

Interpersonal SDBs are self-defeating beliefs that create conflicts with others. They shape our understanding of what we think we have to do to be loved and respected and how other people will treat us.

BLAME: You’re innocent. The person you’re not getting along with is to blame. It’s their fault- not yours. Here, you’re abdicating responsibility for the way you feel.

Whenever we seek to avoid responsibility for our own behavior, we do so by attempting to give that responsibility to some other individual, organization, or entity. But this means we then give away our power to that entity.

It is in the whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; in fact, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn

CERTAINTY : You’re right in your beliefs. Others are wrong if they do not hold to your beliefs and values. As we progress through life, we often find that many of our beliefs, assumptions, and perceptions are wrong. Our values are malleable and our memories are often horribly unreliable and in many cases selective.

For example, if you view yourself as a victim, then most of your memories of your childhood, and of your family will be painful ones. In essence, your memory will blot out all the happy ones, so that the story that you tell yourself- ’I’m a victim’- holds true. Thich Nhat Hanh writes.

‘Often we blame our parents or someone else for our problems. Wherever you are, be your own true person.’ Hanh teaches us to, ‘Write these eight words down where you can see them.’

‘Wherever you are, be your own true person.’

Uncertainty is necessary for personal growth. To paraphrase Socrates, ‘The man who is certain he knows everything, learns nothing.’ Certainty in religion leads to fundamentalism and religious fanaticism. Certainty in politics leads to the current state of affairs in the United States. Certainty in our perceptions of ‘others’ leads us to hatred, bigotry, and inevitably, violence.

ENTITLEMENT: People ‘should’ think, feel, and behave towards you the way you expect them to. There are two kinds of entitlement.

Entitlement usually manifests in one of two ways. The first says ‘I’m great and therefore I deserve special treatment.

Self-esteem is best measured by how you feel about your negative qualities. Someone with high self-esteem can honestly assess their negative qualities, and subsequently, effectively act to address them. Entitled people, on the other hand, are unable to be honest about their negative qualities and therefore are unable to improve their lives in a lasting and meaningful way. They live in denial.

The second says ‘I’m a victim and worthless. I deserve special treatment; you’re all great and I suck. The former are arrogant and consider themselves superior to others and believe they are entitled to special treatment.

The latter plays the victim card: ‘I am a victim.’ Ironically, they both believe that they deserve special treatment. Both of these attitudes are similar in as much as they believe they are entitled to something that others are not. Likewise, both attitudes are a manifestation of narcissism. They are simply two sides of the same coin.

If you keep hoping to be comforted by others, you can feel weighed down by that need. If you have a constant need to be heard, nobody can meet that need to your satisfaction. Rather than seeking comfort from others, offer your comfort and listen to others. In the process of helping you will be healed.

LOVE ADDICTION: The only true happiness is being loved by someone you care about. If not, you’re doomed to a life of emptiness if rejected or ever left alone.

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business, and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself, will render both ourselves and our neighbours worthy if anything can.

We must make the choices that enable us to fulfil the deepest capacities of our real self. We do not exist for ourselves alone, and it is only when we are fully convinced of this fact that we begin to love ourselves properly and thus also love others. Love seeks one thing: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward.

SUBMISSIVENESS: You have to meet everyone else’s demands, needs, and expectations.

‘Almost every successful person begins with two assumptions: the future can be better than the present and they have the power to make it so.’ David Brooks

The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little. We have what we seek; it is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us. In the final analysis, the individual person is responsible for living their lives and ‘finding themselves’ If they persist in shifting responsibility to someone else, they fail to find the meaning of their own existence

PERCEIVED NARCISSISM: You believe that the people you care about or work with are essentially self-centered and exploitative. You can’t be open and spontaneous or expose any weakness or show vulnerability or tell them how you really feel, or they’ll be angry or disappointed and reject you. You are afraid to be yourself, to be authentic, because people won’t accept you as you are.

Beyond my body and labels there is a river of vulnerability and tenderness. Beyond stereotypes and assumptions, there is a valley of openness and authenticity. Beyond memory and ego, there is an ocean of awareness and compassion.

Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again. The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.

CONFLICT PHOBIA: Displaying anger, disagreements or conflict with others is dangerous and must be avoided at all costs. This manifests itself in conflict avoidance.

Usually we obsess over what other people ‘think of us’! In most cases they are not thinking of you at all.

Instead of being the smartest person in the room, quick to critique others, be the warm-hearted friend, bringing people together and sharing things.

Many conflicts in our lives can be resolved if we put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. Try to look at things from their point of view. If you consider only your side, you are no different than a child. If you get angry when debating right and wrong, your enraged voice has just conceded defeat.

The more grateful we feel, the happier we become. This is because gratitude helps us realise that we are all connected. Nobody feels like an island when feeling grateful. Gratitude awakens us to the truth of our interdependent nature.

You are not alone. Everybody hurts. But we have to create our own lives. We have to be Masters of our Destinies and the Captain of our Souls.

COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS

Here are some of the ways in which we, as humans on a personal level, create what are called in psychiatry, ‘cognitive distortions’ which cause us a lot of anxiety, depression, panic and worry and which limits our potential for growth. These types of distorted perceptions and illusions prevent us from developing accurate maps of reality for navigating our personal and professional lives.

ONE: ALL OR NOTHING THINKING- You look at things in absolute black and white categories. If you are not a complete success, then you’re an abject failure.

TWO: OVERGENERALIZATION- You view a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat. You tell yourself, ‘I’ll never get it right’ or ‘This always happens.’ This is a very defeatist attitude and prevents us from moving forward. Also related to this is what author and neuropsychologist Rick Hanson calls the ‘negativity bias’. We can go through our day with many positive experiences and perhaps one negative experience. And at the end of the day, which experience do we tend to dwell on?

Which one keeps us up at night? You guessed it- the negative one! It is kind of a distorted mental filter, like a drop of ink that discolors an entire beaker of water. You dwell on the one negative detail, the one mistake you made, all the while ignoring all the things you did right.

THREE: DISCOUNTING THE POSITIVE- You insist that your positive qualities or accomplishments don’t count.

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. 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.

Don’t take yourself too seriously! Drop the idea that you are Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders. The world would go on even without you.. You will soon break the bow if you keep it always stretched. There is real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.. Be interesting, be enthusiastic, and don’t talk so much.

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.

‘Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand.’ Mother Teresa

FOUR: JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS- You jump to conclusions that aren’t warranted by the facts. There are two types: You assume that people are really judgemental and are looking down on you. This is a type of insecurity but it is also based on an erroneous assumption that people are thinking about us much more than they actually are. A co-worker doesn’t give you the usual hearty good-morning and you think to yourself, ‘What have I done wrong?’ ‘It must be about this or that’. When, in fact, that person is simply distracted by something else/

You jump to conclusions that the worst-case scenario is about to happen or has just happened when something goes wrong. This is a type of negative exaggeration. I call this the Chicken Little Phenomena: ‘The sky is falling!’

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 behaviour or way of thinking is not working, it can be changed. Seekers living today have tremendous opportunities for spiritual change. We have the freedom, in most societies, to not only change our religious beliefs and practices, but to change our karma as well.

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN: THE SPIRITUAL PATH

We should not be deceived into thinking that by changing the external circumstances of our lives that the internal will change of its own accord. It works the other way around. The path that needs changing is the one in our minds. This is not to say that we won’t want to change things in our physical world, but it is our minds that need to be changed first.

The Spiritual Path is much like climbing a mountain. The climb is tough. But each time we stop to look around, the view becomes more spectacular. We see a greater expanse and the ‘flaws’ of the world below disappear as we see more and more of the whole, giving us a whole new perspective on life in general. As we climb higher, we can become more detached from the weight of the world and we experience a greater sense of freedom. We feel lighter and are lifted higher by the increasing beauty we see.

If we follow the spiritual path, we begin to change our perspective of ‘self’. Our limited, impoverished sense of self becomes much larger than a small, separate entity disconnected from the world and others and we can begin to experience more of a ‘non-self’ attitude toward life.

The person with a secular mentality feels themselves to be the center of the universe. Yet, they are likely to suffer from a sense of meaninglessness and insignificance because they know that they are but one human of among seven billion ‘others’-all feeling themselves to be the center of things- scratching out an existence on a medium sized planet circling a small star among countless stars in a galaxy lost among countless galaxies.

The person with a spiritual mentality, on the other hand, does not feel themselves to be the center of the universe. They consider the center to be elsewhere and ‘other’. Yet, they are unlikely to feel lost and insignificant precisely because they draw their significance and meaning from their relationships, their connection with that center of the ‘other’.

Are we the stars of our own movies, our own personal narratives and are we obsessed by these particular narratives, this ‘secular’ perspective? And does it cause us suffering? You betcha!

From this vantage point we become more compassionate as well. We may certainly dislike some individuals intensely for their cruel behavior but from a higher place, we’ll see more of the whole. These individuals are much more than their ‘flawed’ behavior. They too, have an innate inner goodness, which they have lost along their path through life.

Hence we’ll feel their sadness and not be too harsh in our judgement, feeling compassion for these people who are driven by fear and ignorance. The journey upward is not always a steady climb. We may climb, then stop and rest, and regroup. So too, with the spiritual journey. No path through life takes a straight trajectory.

The spiritual journey is a path where our lives take on a deeper meaning beyond our own egocentric concerns and perspective and we dedicate ourselves to first improving our own lives, and then working towards helping others; of the joy of serving a worthy or noble purpose that is greater than ourselves.

APATHY: Some of us have numbed our hearts so thoroughly that it takes the utmost in thrills, the most graphic depiction of horror to make something in our breasts recoil: to shock us into a reaction that at least, feels like feeling.

Sometimes it may seem as if we’ve stopped growing but more often than not we are making progress as we are consolidating our information and our energy. Some of what we learn may require us to drop beliefs and behavior that have been a part of our psyche from the time we were born. Don’t be certain. Certainty can be our worst enemy. We need to constantly re-examine our beliefs, values, and perceptions. Otherwise, how else will we grow as human beings?

Sometimes we’ll experience rapid breakthroughs and sometimes we won’t. Many psychologists and neurobiologists now believe that our subconscious mind searches and sorts for solutions to our own problems without our awareness and, when we least expect it, comes up with the answer. Insights happen more frequently, however, the farther along the journey we are. The Conscious Mind lets go of its resistance to new ways of thinking. It develops more trust.

Our consciousness often doesn’t know what the subconscious wants. We think we want something, but when we get it, we realize that we wanted something else. When you wish to hear the voice of your subconscious, try meditation. Meditation opens a secret path to your subconscious.

Our consciousness may desire money, power, and prestige, but our subconscious desires selfless love, harmony, humor, beauty, sacredness, peace and acceptance. When we listen to silence, we can hear subtle vibrations. While listening to the vibrations, ask a simple question. ‘Who is it that is listening?’ There is no listener. There is only listening.

In Western psychology, beginning with Freud and continuing to this day, the subconscious is the animal id, a dark part of us that wants to kill our fathers, have sex with our mothers; something that must be kept at bay or society will disintegrate into chaos and anarchy. Carl Jung calls this the ‘Shadow’. But Buddhism teaches us that our true inner self is a higher self, which is pure, loving, and joyful, and calls this inner aspect of ourselves ‘basic goodness’ or buddha nature.

The biggest pitfall as you make your way through life is impatience. Being impatient is simply a way of punishing yourself. It creates stress, dissatisfaction, and fear. Moreover, impatience is caused by our inability to pay attention to what life has to offer us now, in the present moment. Just say, ‘What’s the rush? Life goes on despite my temporary, impermanent feelings and mood swings. When I am ready to move forward, I will. I am incorporating new information, developing new habits and learning.’

When we wake up to our potential power, our first instinct is to ‘grab it all quick’. The more we grab, the more it seems to elude us. This is the same concept as ‘grasping’ and according to Buddhism one of the key sources of suffering. So often when we are discouraged, thinking that we are learning nothing from all our efforts, changes are really taking place within us. Patience means trusting that we are growing; that what we wish from life will happen and giving it time to happen. It requires a certain trust in our own capabilities and resilience.

There are only two experiences in life: those that stem from our basic goodness and those that have something to teach us. We recognize the first as joy and the latter as struggle. But the times of struggle help us to grow in wisdom, integrity, and compassion. Each time we confront some intense difficulty, we know that there is something that we have not learned yet, and that we have been given an opportunity to learn.

‘What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step towards something better.’ Wendell Phillips

No matter what is happening at any particular time in your life, keep in mind that life is unfolding as it should. Our task is to live in accordance with how life unfolds; in Eastern philosophy this is known as the Tao, or roughly translated, ‘The Way’. The challenge is to stay on the spiritual path. It is a far more enjoyable journey than any other path we may choose to follow. We will know if we are on the right path by the way we feel.

We can trust our intuition and listen to what our emotions are telling us; both negative and positive. Negative emotions such as depression and anxiety are very good indicators of where we are on our path and if we examine our lives closely, we will learn when to change directions or to simply stay the course or to rest and let it be. If the path we are on isn’t providing us with joy, satisfaction, creativity, love, and caring, that isn’t it and it’s time to try another path or approach.

Again, it is essential that we don’t push away difficult emotions, but rather observe them without judgement and learn what they have to tell us. Negative emotions serve as signposts on our individual paths. Also, putting off painful decisions is counter-productive to our growth. Sometimes the uncomfortable path is the one that leads us to greater happiness. As a great Stoic once said, ‘Easy decisions; difficult life. Hard decisions, easy life.’

‘The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.’ Scott Peck

There is solitude and the nurturing silence that is the relationship with ourselves, but even then we are part of something larger. Mystery is part of each life and maybe it’s healthier to uphold it than to spend a lifetime in search of half-baked answers.

Under a craggy peak,

I live peacefully in a grass hut,

Listening to birds for music.

Clouds are my best neighbors.

Below a pure spring where I refresh body and mind:

Above, towering pines

And oaks that provide shade and brushwood.

Free, so free, day after day-

I never want to leave. Ryokan

For all that read this, my prayer for you is that you could live under a craggy peak, living peacefully in a grass hut, listening to birds for music, with clouds as your best neighbors with towering pines above you and the you will live free, so free, day after day, so that when it comes time to leave you shall have no regrets and smile at a life well-lived.

Yesterday is but a dream

And tomorrow only a vision

But today well-lived

In the present moment

Makes all of our yesterdays

Full of beautiful memories

And all of our tomorrows

Visions of hope. Colin

‘You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and your affection that you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anyone deserves your love and affection.’ The Buddha