from “The Pocket Pema Chodron (Shambhala Pocket Classics)” by Pema Chödrön -
“THERE’S a common misunderstanding among all the human beings who have ever been born on the earth that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain and just try to get comfortable. You can see this even in insects and animals and birds. All of us are the same. A much more interesting, kind, adventurous, and joyful approach to life is to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our inquisitiveness is bitter or sweet. To lead a life that goes beyond pettiness and prejudice and always wanting to make sure that everything turns out on our own terms, to lead a more passionate, full, and delightful life than that, we must realize that we can endure a lot of pain and pleasure for the sake of finding out who we are and what this world is, how we tick and how our world ticks, how the whole thing just is.”
I used alcohol to avoid pain, to regain comfortability. It didnt work.
Reading this made me think about my dependance on tobacco and sugar. When I decided to give those up…I just thought I would stop. I use those like I did alcohol.
I spent my last two evenings with a Recovery Dharma online group. It was very nice and yesterday‘s meditation opened up a lot in me. It was a compassion meditation. I find these very difficult when I direct them towards myself. Either I end up being the worst self-critic or I get sucked into endless self-pity and have trouble separating myself from my emotions and inner stories. For the first time I felt like I could get to a different position yesterday. I was a responsible adult whose job it was to take care of myself. A caring and loving adult but also someone who actually is able and willing to handle this job. It still feels very empowering. I think I will be joining the group on a regular basis.
from “The Pocket Pema Chodron (Shambhala Pocket Classics)” by Pema Chödrön -
“WHEN I was about six years old I received an essential teaching from an old woman sitting in the sun. I was walking by her house one day feeling lonely, unloved, and mad, kicking anything I could find. Laughing, she said to me, “Little girl, don’t you go letting life harden your heart.” Right there, I received this pith instruction: we can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.”
from “The Pocket Pema Chodron (Shambhala Pocket Classics)” by Pema Chödrön -
“AS long as we’re caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality of exactly what is happening, as long as we’re always running away from discomfort, we’re going to be caught in a cycle of unhappiness and disappointment, and we will feel weaker and weaker.”
The youngest is camping with his girlfriend and some friends. A much needed rest for him from life.
Reading this, i thought of him. A copy of this book has been ordered and on its way for him. How much he puts into it, we will see.
I didn’t read update posts, but have to say I am glad it came to my attention. I haven’t used RD in a looooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg time and it matters. I still haven’t meditated ONCE since my accident 6 months ago.
Your post today is what made my day today so calm and smooth. I read it earlier and it resonates with how I have been living and feeling.
Today I made changes to just slow down and just let thing be.
from “The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh (Shambhala Pocket Classics)” by Thich Nhat Hanh, Melvin McLeod -
“As we sit down next to a stream, we can listen to its laughter and watch its sparkling waters, noticing the pebbles glistening and the fresh green plants nearby, and we may be overcome with happiness. We are one with the stream’s freshness, purity, and clarity. But in just an instant we may find we’ve had enough. Our heart is troubled, and we think of other things. We are no longer at one with the stream. It is of no use to sit in a peaceful forest if our mind is lost in the city.”
from “The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh (Shambhala Pocket Classics)” by Thich Nhat Hanh, Melvin McLeod -
“Life is too precious for us to lose ourselves in our ideas and concepts, in our anger and our despair. We must wake up to the marvelous reality of life. We must begin to live fully and truly, every moment of our daily lives.”
Holy Universe Batman! Just finished posting this and one of our members unleased an angry tirade on one our newest employees. I stepped in the middle of it and tild him he was in training, doing his job 100% the way I trained him…then dropped this jem on him. “Isnt life too precious to let 5 seconds of discomfort piss you off…and lets face it, there was no discomfort except how you percieved it.”
Slow day at work…so I have been reading…this stuck out.
from “The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh (Shambhala Pocket Classics)” by Thich Nhat Hanh, Melvin McLeod -
“Many people in our society are not happy, even though the conditions for their happiness already exist. Their “habit energy” is always pushing them ahead, preventing them from being happy in the here and now. But with a little bit of training, we can all learn to recognize this energy every time it comes up. Why wait to be happy? When you walk, it is possible to walk in such a way that every step becomes nourishing and healing. This is not difficult.”
